The Bane of My Past
by Stilwater Rundeepo
Summary: Cad Bane and Boba Fett...two bounty hunters with a long history between them. Are they allies? Partners in crime? Rivals? Enemies for business, or for personal? Bane may be satisfied with all of the above, but Boba has a plan up his sleeve. After all, he has his father's legacy to live up to. Covers from pre-AOTC to post-ROTS. Rated T.
1. Chapter the First

"The Bane of My Past"

Chapter the First

* * *

_- 25 BBY - _

It would end the same way it began.

Boba Fett, who had just turned seven standard years old, was beside himself with thrills, as he watched his father return to his seat at the side of the arena. A lock of dark hair curled over one of Boba's eyes and he tried tucking it away. A sweet honey flavor from the candy he has just consumed rested in his mouth.

"And how did that look from the sidelines, Boba?"

"It looks like you beat him into next week," Boba laughed. He looked up to see his father beaming, which deepened the scars around his mouth.

Most everyone else inside that old broken-down stadium, better known as the Panwa Arena, preferred to stay away from the wooden boards that circled around to form a seventy-foot wide arena. Not so much for safety measures, as a ray shield separated the competitors from the crowd, but so they could avoid perceiving the more gruesome details of what happened within. After all, seeing competitors with body parts torn off, chewed off, or blown off by whatever faced them in that arena was much more entertaining from a distance, and not so up close.

Boba thought otherwise. He considered himself different from the other boys his age. While everyone else preferred to back away, Boba wanted to get as close as he could to the action. He wanted to see every detail, every movement and decision and action made in that arena. He wanted to soak it all up like a dry sponge because what was done to their bodies was not what mattered, but what they _should_ have done differently so they could walk out in one piece.

"Very good, Boba. Yes, I sure did. There's one more coming on next and then I'll do the same to him, and then we'll call it for a day. How does that sound?"

Boba nodded eagerly.

What better place to spend the weekend than the capitol of Tatooine's underground hub for bounty hunters, smugglers, and other mercenaries to meet their matches. In this multi-level underground facility, nearly five thousand seats housed a crowd who watched as said competitors entered a circular ring in the center, in which they battled either wild animals captured for sport, or each other. The latter was more often the case. It was a chance for anyone to put their strength and skills to the test. Unless you were someone like Jango Fett, in which case it was a chance to show off your strength and skills and as such put those who considered themselves your equals back in their place.

Which is how Jango had spent his morning in general, and what Boba had been entertaining himself to. Complete with a bag of honey-flavored candies and front-row seats to add to the spectacle. The arena floor was a mess. And Dad wasn't even finished yet.

The floor of the ring was given a clean sweep by a pair of droids; then the green light flashed. Meanwhile, Jango sat down next to his son to take a breather and prepare for his next duel by paying attention to the two competitors currently in the ring.

"Which one will you fight, Dad?"

"Whoever wins, of course," Jango replied before digging his hand into Boba's bag of candy.

Boba's attention was focused less on the two fighters, who stood on opposite sides of the ring in preparation, and more on the sound of the large crowd of spectators. Excited at the start of a new fight, they began cheering and shouting the name of who they supported. Boba mentally followed what his father had shown him earlier, and paid close attention to the highest rows of the stadium. In those places sat the folks who did not come for entertainment at all. Instead, they came to see firsthand what was available in the pool of such dirty work, and decide who was the most capable for whatever jobs they offered. Boba could not see them well, but he knew they were up there. Who knows...they could be politicians, bankers, merchants, or crime-lords as far as he knew.

"Look, Boba. See? The one in the hat tricked the other one into thinking he would attack head-on. He used that expectation to his advantage," said Jango, and he pointed into the ring where the fight was drawing to a close. Indeed, the one with the hat had outdone the other who was currently being pounded into the ground.

Boba did not know what an _expectation _was, but it sounded pretty important.

When the fight was over, Jango stood up and donned his helmet.

"Well, this is the last one. Wish me luck."

"Good luck, Dad. Knock him into next week." Boba grinned as he watched his father return to his original position in the ring before the fight began, thinking proudly to himself,

_That's my dad. That's _my _dad._

Boba heard the names announced, and the crowd cheered when they heard Jango's. Boba puffed out his chest. He could not wait to see his father in action again. The two bounty hunters approached each other just as the safety ray shields went up and Boba watched to see what his father would do first to lick this guy. However he chose to do it, Boba knew it was going to be lots of fun to watch. Few things were more exciting and entertaining than watching your dad cream every opponent with a crowd of thousands cheering him on.

What was happening? Jango was on the ground. The figure in the hat was standing over him. Boba did not understand. The crowd chanted Jango's name as he rose to his feet and made a counterattack. Now Boba was on the edge of his seat, his knuckles white as he gripped the railing in front of him. Both men in the ring moved at lightning speed, each sending blows and parries as fast as the other.

Boba took note that the one in the hat was definitely non-Human, but at such an angle Boba could not tell what he was. He might be a Chiss, or possibly a Neimoidian or Duros as well. His hat was wide-brimmed and he wore a long duster, and was armed to the teeth.

Boba's stomach churned as he watched his father get knocked into the ground a second time. Both men were taking damage from the fight, which made the spectators all the more excited. In that moment, recalling it from years later, Boba would remember the sound of hundreds of bloodthirsty hands pounding the railings and chanting the name of who they supported. Needless to say, _Fett _drowned out the other by a long shot. And Boba remembered how hearing his father's name echoed by the crowd in that large place, stirred a deep burning emotion inside of him, and he found himself leaning against the railing and beginning to shout along with them.

"Get him, Dad, get him!"

But quite frankly when it came down to it, no matter whose name they were chanting, the crowd probably cared much more about how violent the fights were rather than who actually won.

Boba watched his father parry the next attack and send a crippling bow to the competitor, which seemed to weaken him considerably. Then Jango ignited his jetpack, to which the other ignited a set of thrusters on each boot, and the fight was taken to the roof of the ray shield. Boba could not see that high up; all he could do was listen to the verbal reactions of those who could, and wait.

When both landed back on the ground, it was Jango Fett at last who stood to his full height as the other lifted the hand signal for defeat. Pride swelled in Boba's lungs like fresh, sweet air. He punched the air and roared with ecstasy.

It was his father and no one else's who walked away completely undefeated in the ring that day. It was his father whose name they cheered for above any other. Young Boba never, ever wanted to forget what it felt in his heart to know these things and lock them away inside.

When Jango returned to collect Boba, they descended to the lower level below the stadium where competitors and spectators alike gathered to drink and mingle, for the most part, peacefully. Boba stayed close to his father, as he had always been instructed. Everyone down there, of course, recognized the identity of the bounty hunter and the little boy at his side. As Boba followed him, he noticed a few familiar faces toward the side. He tugged Jango's sleeve.

"Dad, are we going to say hello to them?"

"No, son. I have someone I want to cordially introduce myself to."

"Dad, what's _cordially_?"

Boba did not noticed the smile on his father's face as they proceeded towards the counter at the back of the large room.

"It would be exact opposite of what you saw in the ring today." As Jango spoke, he nodded in the direction of a figure leaning against the edge of the counter next to an empty seat, which Jango beckoned Boba to sit down in. Boba looked up at the figure, who wore a familiar looking hat.

"I always like to meet my opponents on more peaceful terms," Jango was saying to him, "especially when they can put up a fight as well as you can."

Boba was certain the bounty hunter was a Duros now. He had wide red eyes, blue complexion, and a deathstick in his mouth.

"Guess you haven't lost in a while," the Duros bounty hunter remarked. He noticed Boba sitting next to him and flicked his head in Boba's direction. "Who's the kid?"

"My son, Boba. My apologies, but I seem to have already forgotten your name."

"Cadomir Bane."

"Interesting. A few years ago I heard of a blue-skinned Duros named Cadomir _Sotulet_ getting into some trouble with the local authorities on some Nal Hutta coastal city. Wore odd-looking hats and certainly got my work cut out for me. That wouldn't have been you, would it?"

Cadomir Bane, so-called, openly bristled.

"The hell is it to you?"

"I couldn't forget your face, even if it was some time ago," said Jango. "You should do a better job of covering up your tracks if you want employers to take you seriously...make a note of that. Still, you handled yourself well out there today, and I wanted to tell you that in person."

Bane didn't say anything, only shrugged as if in apathy of Jango's advice as well as his compliment, and took a long drag on the deathstick. Boba clenched his fists, glaring up at him.

"You don't know who you're talking to, do you?" Boba snapped. "That's Jango Fett. He's the best bounty hunter there ever is. Nobody even _knows_ who you are, you're just a nobody."

"Why, sure, I know who he is," Bane replied, avoiding Boba's gaze and glaring right into Jango's as he spoke. "It doesn't make one difference to me, either. Being the _best _comes and goes...it might be your old man today, but there's no telling for tomorrow. Titles come and go, little guy."

"Hey, you—"

"That's enough, Boba. Let's leave."

Boba glared up at the bounty hunter as he hopped off his seat and stood beside his father. He heard Jango say a few more parting words before he turned around and began walking away. Boba, staying by his side, still clenched his fists.

"Who was that, Dad?"

Jango did not answer until they were far away enough from the crowd so that no one could hear them.

"I knew I'd seen him before. A few years ago I was working as a trainer for security guards on Nal Hutta. The last name has changed, but I'm almost positive it's the same guy. I don't remember being impressed with him back then, but he seems to be a more capable bounty hunter now."

"You should have put him in his place."

"Now would not have been the right time. He's just an amateur who has a lot to learn. That's all there is to it."

"Maybe _I_ should be the one to put him in his place."

Jango laughed as he led his son out of the darkness of that dimly lit room and into the light of day outside.

"Maybe you will...someday."

* * *

_Three years later_

_- 22 BBY -_

Boba had never been told to avert his eyes from a battle. He had never been told to look away when there was about to be a violent or gruesome fate for a sentient. This is because his father believed it was important that one be accustomed to seeing the worst the galaxy had to offer at the earliest age possible. For in this way, no one could surprise or shock you and use the moment to their own advantage. Your experience trumped your sickness or fear or horror, and you learned to expect the worst which resulted in more preparedness for it. In a word, Jango had never been one to shield his son's eyes from these things with the intention of teaching Boba how to become used to it early on.

However, there are so many things one can get used to seeing.

As Boba knelt down in the stand, he listened to the chaos erupting all throughout the Geonosian Arena. Granted, that day had witnessed far more action than Boba anticipated. Where he thought he could get a firsthand glimpse at the Geonosian style of executing two Jedi and a Senator, instead the arena was now full of droids and Jedi killing each other. As Jango left to go down and fight, he instructed Boba to keep his head down so a stray blast may not harm him.

As if. Boba could not resist the temptation to see, so he peeked his head up not heeding his father's orders. He wanted to see the battle and all the Jedi involved in it. While the Viceroy were hiding in safety, Boba looked over the edge and down where his father was opening fire at one of the Jedi Masters.

Years later, Boba would wonder how things might have been different had he looked away in that very moment. The trouble was, he didn't look away.

Instead, he watched his father take several steps back, firing on the Jedi who advanced closer to him, and the Jedi's purple blade whipped through the air in a circular motion before sweeping down over his father's shoulders. Before Boba could even process what was happening in front of him, his father's helmet was lying several feet away from the decapitated body that collapsed on the ground.

_No. _His father couldn't...he couldn't be _killed_. Not at the hands of a Jedi. How could he? No. No, no...

Boba felt as if a heavy blow had been delivered to his stomach, and he ducked back down and covered his face. Despite the fact that his father had trained him for so long to become used to the sight of violence and death, Boba felt his blood run ice cold with shock and horror. He wanted to be sick, and found that his tongue was tied in knots. He saw the image flash in front of his eyes over and over again: the lightsaber slicing off his father's head and the Jedi looking down for a few moments with a look Boba just _knew_ was a look of satisfaction.

_No, Dad, no, you can't be dead. You can't be dead. You have to be with me. Please, Dad...no..._

Shaken to the core, young Boba was all but helpless as the battle continued. When it was over and the arena was nothing but a pit littered with scrap piles of droids and Jedi bodies, Boba slowly got to his feet. Stumbling and barely able to stand, he managed to make his way down and find his father's helmet. When he saw the body for himself was when Boba realized without a doubt that what he had seen had not been conjured up from his imagination.

His father was dead. Boba was, for the first time in his life, completely alone.

Boba refused to shed a tear. He couldn't. It wasn't right to cry. Jango wouldn't have wanted him to. He buried the urge deep down so he would not humiliate himself the last time he was to be with his father. Through the panic, confusion, and extreme grief of that moment, Boba held his father's helmet to his forehead, choking on the tears so much so that he could hardly breathe.

_Goodbye, Dad._

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Hey, y'all! I'm back with another story!_

_This one will not be a long chapter fic...in fact it is more of a setup for my upcoming fic which is the sequel to "Space Bound" and will be far more extensive. Long story short, one of the major elements in the sequel will be the history between Cad Bane and Boba Fett. For a long time my headcanon of them has been growing and expanding a lot, and it's been great fun, but I encountered a dilemma...I had too much backstory to just cover in one fic. Thus I am writing a whole new fic to explain my headcanon story of how these two bounty hunters have interacted._

_As explained in the summary, this story will cover from pre-Attack of the Clones to post-Revenge of the Sith. There will be several overlaps with events from "The Clone Wars" as well as both movies, as you could tell from the opening chapter._

_"Cadomir Sotulet" is a name I made up for Cad Bane's "birth" name...because after all who would be so cruel as to give their kid a name like that! Haha._

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story! Stay tuned for more. Reviews are greatly appreciated :)_


	2. Chapter the Second

"The Bane of My Past"

Part I

Chapter the Second

* * *

_Two years later_

_- 20 BBY -_

Boba Fett opened his eyes, shutting away the memories. Even though he had only been recalling them for several moments, it was enough to make him physically sick. The image of his father's severed head falling onto the sand was too vivid, even two years later. He swallowed hard and stood up to give himself a quick jolt back into reality. He laid his new helmet on the table in front of him, its barrel illuminated by the sharp fluorescent light hanging directly above his head.

The musty smell of the place was beginning to give Boba a headache. Still, when trying to find a location for their meeting, Boba could not think of a more appropriate setting. Somewhere without any potential trespassers or eavesdroppers, enough wide open space to make them both feel more comfortable, and in a quieter part of the district. As of now, the only place that fit all those requirements, which was located in the Blue Sector's of Corellia's capitol, Coronet City, was an abandoned theatre house.

Boba clasped his hands behind his back and stood up on his toes. As a result, the old floorboards of the theatre stage below him belted out a chorus of loud groans and creaks. He reflected once again back to the first time he had met the bounty hunter named Cad Bane, and how different both of them had been at the time. In a short few years, so many things had changed. Even know Boba had not spoken so much as a word to Bane since he saw him duel his father in the underground arena, Boba had heard enough from others in the trade as well as the HoloNet reports. Since the Clone Wars began, Bane had quickly gained notoriety and popularity in the criminal underworld. In two years, his name had become something greatly feared, making men sick with fear when they heard it.

Just as the Fett name had been two years ago. Boba grimaced when he thought of it that way.

Then he wondered if Bane was going to come after all. Suppose he had decided to decline Boba's invitation without telling him, or his plans changed abruptly. Maybe he would not even come. Then Boba would have wasted half an afternoon staring at the fraying curtains behind him and listening to the wind howl against the broken glass of the ceiling. As if on cue with Boba's train of thought, he heard the side door to the theatrehouse creak open. In response, he sat back down in his chair and sat up straight, resting his hands on the table to show that he was unarmed. A dark figure slowly walked up the steps onto the stage, past the first curtain, and into the light. The first thing Boba recognized was the hat. Its shape and design had not changed, but it had accumulated wear since Boba last saw it. Sure enough, this was exactly who Boba had been expecting to see.

A low, raspy voice chilled the hairs on the back of Boba's neck, as it was the first voice besides his own he had heard for hours.

"You came alone?"

Boba nodded once.

"Yes, we're going to keep things simple. No one else will have anything to do with what we have to talk about. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, but you might if you're not careful. You know, you called me on short notice, and my schedule is tight enough as it is." Bane sat down in the chair across from him at the table.

"If my invitation was such a bother, then why did you come?"

Boba saw him reach for something in his pocket, and he felt a slight curdle when he remembered that Bane had been smoking deathsticks the last time they met. Boba despised the smell and taste of them, and the air in the theatre was bad enough already. When Boba saw that Bane had in fact reached for and planted a toothpick in his mouth instead, he breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Perhaps it's because I'm interested in what you have to say," Bane said, leaning forward in his seat as he began to chew on the toothpick. "When you requested that we arrange a peaceful meeting in the Blue Resort, your details on the reasoning for this request were rather vague."

"You might not remember this, but we met once before."

"Ah, yes, we did. Before your old man—" Bane made a cutting motion across his neck with a small grin of amusement at his own bad joke.

Boba curled his lower lip and clenched his fists.

"You better not have invited me here just to waste my time. I have better things to do than make small talk with children."

"I don't know what you think I am, but I'm _not _one to waste other's time with small talk."

"Listen, boy, I'd watch my mouth if I were you. I know where you come from and what you think you're capable of. State your business before you wear out my patience," Bane sneered coldly, waving his toothpick at Boba.

_I guess I remembered him being far more pleasant than this, _Boba thought bitterly.

Yet, it was almost just as well. Being one of the youngest in his trade, Boba had grown used to being overestimated by employers and co-workers alike. It was a burden he had learned to adjust in the past two years. This meant that, in Cad Bane's mind, he had no reason to respect Boba or expect anything of quality from him until Boba proved it to him personally. If Boba wanted Bane to think better of him, he had to show he was worthy of it. He could do that.

"This is why I requested your presence here. I was trained by my father for the first ten years of my life. Aurra Sing also took me in for a short time, but not long enough to bring any real benefit from the relationship. Both Sing and my father left me before I was ready to make it out on my own." As Boba spoke, his insides cringed. His reunion with Cad Bane after all these years had so far been humiliating, awkward, and disgusting. Boba knew that when he got down to the point, his pride would be stamped to pieces. He did not even know what Bane's reaction would be. The whole meeting could turn out to be a big failure that would put he and Bane on negative terms from here on out.

However, he had come this far already. He had spent days in front of that list, crossing out and highlighting names until he eliminated the possibilities down to only one, and that remaining possibility was Cad Bane. He was here now and there was no way around it anymore.

"I'm not ready to work as a bounty hunter all on my own yet."

There, he said it.

Bane, who somewhere during Boba's monologue had begun to smile to himself, leaned back in his chair. His posture suggested boredom and lethargy, but his eyes were focused with every intent on the younger bounty hunter. Whatever Boba had said had gotten his attention, and Boba was almost certain that Bane already knew what he was going to say next. He paused and stared down at his helmet on the table.

"Go on," said Bane.

_All right, here goes._

"I want you to be my new trainer," Boba said. It came out a tad too quickly.

Bane's eyes widened, but otherwise he didn't move a muscle. Boba continued.

"With your training I will be able to work on my own in due time. All I need is some more instruction, and some supervised experience out in the field, and I will be ready." Boba cleared his throat. "In other words, I want you to teach me everything you know. Everything."

Bane did not look fully convinced.

"And what do I get in return for being your…instructor? If you think you can pay me back in credits, you—"

"In return, you can do whatever you want with me."

"Say again?" Bane's eyes widened a second time.

_Good, he's getting interested. That's exactly what I want._

Boba made himself more comfortable in his chair, and he faced Bane head on with the acknowledgment that the more they carried on this conversation, the more Bane would try to test Boba's self-reliance. Bane could be throwing double-edged questions at any moment, and Boba had to mentally prepare for that.

"I'll be indebted to use my own skills however you want me to. If you want my help on a job, I'll have to follow your orders. If you want me to find information for you, I'll do it. That's my bargain. Your talents for my allegiance. Are you interested?"

Bane's smile slowly returned, and it was gone again.

"What about when your training is finished, and you are ready to go on your own? What happens then?"

"Here is what I've decided. When we both agree the time is right, we will part our ways without any strings attached. If that time comes and either of us decides we did not have our fair share in the bargain, we even it out in cash payments. Is that good enough?"

"Perhaps. It depends on how fast of a learner you are."

"Come on, you said yourself you know who I am. If I wasn't a fast learner, do you think I would have made it this far already?" Boba cracked a small, crooked smile.

"I'll have to admit, there are some ways I could make good use of your services," Bane said, as he flicked the toothpick away into the shadows of the stage curtain. "Although, this also depends how far you'd be willing to take this…allegiance."

"I said, _whatever_ you want me to do. Your efficiency in training and my loyalty to your orders will be parallel. And another thing: you cannot betray me or leave me behind. You do that and I find someone more than willing to bring me your head on a platter."

"You talk big for a little man. I like that."

"So it's an agreement, then?" Boba asked, intentionally keeping his enthusiasm low. He had to remember to act calmly and coolly, just as his father would have.

"Just as long as this…that if you decide to turn the tables before negotiations are over, I will not hesitate to kill you." With that, Bane chuckled. "After all, I'm the one who's training you. Making cooked meat out of your carcass shouldn't be too difficult."

Boba swallowed hard. He knew Bane was right, and they were both risking their lives by coming into such close relations with each other. But Boba had sent out the invitation to Bane with full awareness of what he was getting into. Bane might be the current best bounty hunter there was, but he was not necessarily the most dangerous. Boba knew that, and he had had close calls with more than enough of the same breed.

"All right. It's a deal," Boba finally said.

Bane rose from his chair and walked around the table. Boba could feel himself being examined like an insect under a microscope, and it felt disgusting. Again, he should have expected as much.

"One more question, Fett. Just why did you choose me to be your new trainer?"

Boba stood up so he could make eye contact with Bane again. This proved to both of them how many heads Bane stood taller than him. Still, Boba grabbed his helmet and stood straight.

"I chose you because of your track record. You are loyal only to the highest bidder, you aren't sloppy, and you don't compromise your guidelines for anyone. That's all. Do you want to know anything else?"

"Oh, I have plenty of questions, but first, why don't we get out of this stinkhole and do a little catching up? It's been a few years, after all." Bane jabbed a thumb at the door through which he came.

"Wait," Boba said firmly. "Before we leave, we have to sign out a contract."

"Certainly."

Boba pulled out the document he had already written out beforehand in preparation for the meeting. On it he had outlined all the terms of agreement between them, all of which, thankfully, Bane had not argued with as Boba covered them during their conversation. On the bottom, Boba had already signed his name. He watched with a hidden smirk of smugness as Bane leaned over the table and looked down at the blank space currently absent of his own signature.

"That's interesting," Bane said.

"What is?"

"It appears to me that you signed your name in blood."

"Makes it more official that way." Boba remembered once when his father made a similar contract with another bounty hunter on one of the Outer Rim territories. When Boba had asked why Jango chose to sign it in blood, Jango's reply was that blood marked one's identity when signing an agreement, and as such signing in blood was another way of stating that breaking the agreement would be the equivalent to defiling one's own identity.

Boba was about to offer Bane a small knife of his own, but instead, Bane just took the toothpick out of his mouth and used the dry end to make a small puncture at the tip of his index finger, which he slowly drew across to deepen the cut. As Boba watched Bane sign his name on the bottom, Boba could not help but wonder if this particular form of signing a contract would carry as much significance for the older bounty hunter as it did for him. After all, he had gone over what there was to find of Bane's track record. His own blood was probably no more sacred to Bane than the blood of a stranger. Still, it proved that Boba took the contract seriously, and that was the extent to which he could carry out his end of the bargain.

Bane finished writing his name, handed the document back to Boba, and to Boba's slight surprise, Bane licked the remainder of blood from his finger. Boba looked down and could not help but notice that their opposite colors, Bane's green blood and Boba's own crimson red, almost seemed to compliment each other against the blank space of the document.

What the older bounty hunter did not know was that the younger had signed his name in blood, indeed, but not with his own.

* * *

_A/N:_

_I hope you are all enjoying the story so far! Any thoughts on the latest plot twist? Reviews are appreciated!_


	3. Chapter the Third

"The Bane of My Past"

Chapter the Third

* * *

As to how Boba Fett expected his first 'training session' with his new instructor to go, he was taken aback by Bane's abrupt way of doing things.

In other words, the contract had been signed not half one standard day ago, and already Boba was spitting out dirt between his teeth. He dragged himself back up on his feet, kicking the ground. It was scarcely daylight in the shipping docks of the Blue Sector, which meant that Boba could not see his attacker as well as normal.

"Try again, Fett," the voice rang out in a flat tone. "Don't tell me you've never played in the dark before."

Boba licked the corner of his mouth, tasting a bit of blood, before he snapped his guard back up and looked around on all sides. He could make out Bane's figure almost directly behind him, but Boba pretended not to notice him at first. Then, when he could sense Bane moving in again to subdue him, Boba spun around and lashed out a jab with his fist.

Pain erupted all the way up Boba's shoulder as his arm snapped back, over, and against his back, and he subsequently took a knee to the chest. As he was tossed back down to the ground, he heard Bane snort in annoyance.

"I can do this all day if we have to, although that's not exactly what I had in mind."

"What the hell do you expect me to do?" Boba snapped, clutching his arm. "You're not even giving me a chance."

"Then perhaps you should start looking for other chances. If there weren't any, I'd be wasting both our time out here. Now get up and try again."

Boba grimaced, but he stood up and shook away the pain in his limbs.

_He seemed to jump into the agreement pretty quickly. It's like he was just waiting for an excuse to bully me around, _Boba thought bitterly, then with a mental laugh, added, _Yeah...I bet he's enjoying this. Besides, he and Jango used to be rivals. How could he _not_ enjoy this?_

But focus. That was the key. Look for a weakness or an opening that was well hidden in the attack. Boba thought quickly as he put his guard up and stepped back into the shadows. The method Bane had been using for the past five or six times was to use Boba's attack to his own advantage. Boba realized every single one of his first attacks had involved propelling all his energy up front. That was how Bane was taking him down so easily...if he had no energy left, he could not defend himself. That had to be it.

Boba was still thinking this over when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced over his shoulder and threw a fake jab at the taller figure, and as he had been expecting, the attack was blocked. He felt Bane begin to grab his arm and wrench it back, and Boba waited until the precise moment when Bane's fingers were around his wrist before Boba made his counterattack. Using Bane's grip as leverage, he swung his arm around, yanked down, and drove a sharp sidekick into Bane's stomach. Then, as Bane was taken aback by the blow, Boba drove his other elbow down onto Bane's arm which forced Bane to release him. Boba stepped back, proud of his handiwork, watching Bane look down at him in what Boba assumed was genuine surprise.

"Told you I'm a fast learner," Boba said.

"You caught on quickly. But still, you hesitate too much."

"I never hesitated—"

"Next time," Bane interjected, "you don't stop the attack until I'm down on the ground. You backed away and gave me the chance to draw a weapon on you. Never, ever stop until your attacker can't defend themselves at all."

Boba frowned. If one thing wasn't wrong, it was another. There was always going to be something off about his technique, wasn't there? He wiped his mouth and raised his guard.

"Fine, then let's run through it again."

"No, it's too late now. See, it's daylight, so let's head on back to the ship," Bane said, and he pointed in the direction of his ship _Sleight of Hand _which was a small walking distance from the shipping docks. "We'll take a break from physical combat for a while. I think you'll enjoy what I have in mind next." As Bane stepped out from the shadows and began walking back, Boba picked up his helmet and followed him. Before they officially began, Boba had Bane look over the details of the contract which stated specific areas that Boba had decided he needed training in. It had not been too difficult for Boba to concoct a list, since Jango had taught him to be very self-aware about what he was physically and mentally capable of on the field. Even with this list, Bane still had his own ideas about what he thought Boba could use some teaching on.

One of these was un-teaching the element of surprise. Boba caught on to this as he noticed Bane was walking them to the ship in a completely different direction than before.

"We're taking another way back?"

"Could be someone following us. You never know. If there's one thing I've learned, it's never take the same route twice. _Especially _if you're with someone else."

Boba caught up to Bane to walk side by side with him, and he readjusted his helmet under his arm as he spat more dirt out of his mouth.

"If you're ever willing to share, I'd be happy to hear how you learned some of these lessons the hard way."

"Sorry, kid, I'm not a storyteller," Bane said coldly.

* * *

As they were traveling across to the other side of the Inner Rim Territories, Bane landed his ship on a small moon to resupply at a fueling station. Both left the ship to see what there was of the local community, but unfortunately there was little more than a couple bars and a docking bay where ships were being sold. Boba turned to Bane and said,

"If it's all right with you, I'm going to take a little walk around."

"What for? We're not going to be here long."

"I always go for walks. I won't be long."

Bane just crossed his arms and gave a small nod of resignation. With that, Boba left the fueling station and began searching for the nearest store of some sort. It had been a long habit of his to buy a small token at every place he stopped, so that one day he would be able to remember everywhere he had been to. He started way back when his father gave him his first token at the age of three, and Boba had not stopped since.

Boba had left his usual armor behind, and was only wearing his everyday garments. He walked at a brisk, calm pace away from the station and towards the small community ahead. A small bruise had formed on his chin where he been tossed to the ground earlier, and his arm still felt sore, but it was no pain he was not already accustomed to. For the first time since the few hours waiting in the theatre house, Boba Fett was alone with his own thoughts. It was something he was still unaccustomed to and rather ill at ease with as well. Maybe because recently he and his thoughts had not been seeing eye to eye on everything. And without distractions, these disagreements could escalate into arguments with his very own mind.

Less than a quarter of a mile ahead, Boba could make out the figure of a small cave embedded into the side of the rocky dune. The sight gave Boba a small sense of relief and he turned in the direction of the cave. In one hand, he gripped the comlink he had brought with him, and which Bane had not noticed as far as Boba was aware of.

In the past few days, Boba had been paying close attention to just what Cad Bane was like when he was up close and personal. Not just what he had read in the gossip threads on the HoloNet, or what he heard from other bounty hunters, but purely based on Boba's own senses and intuition. Boba felt that he was already starting to get to know Bane to an extent that Bane might not even be aware of. Sleeping in the next room, eating at the same table, exchanging the bruises and blows, and taking note of Bane's little habits such as the hat cleaning and toothpick chewing...all of it brought about information Boba was new to. It was as if he were drawing closer and closer to the psyche of his own instructor, gradually discovering according to his sensory input as to what made Cad Bane tick.

This all would have been wonderful for Boba Fett, except for one small thing. And that was the very likely, no, the almost certain probability that as Boba Fett was getting to know Cad Bane, Cad Bane was also getting to know Boba Fett. That put the two of them in a mental battle of wits against each other. On the outside they were allies, having signed a contract in blood and linked in a mutual benefit with each other. But behind the scenes, they were each intent on uncovering the psychological mystery that was the other. In summary, they were both in this partnership for reasons that were avoided completely in the contract.

Boba had arrived at the cave. He peered inside but saw little else than darkness. He glanced back at the fueling station off in the distance, but as far as he could tell Bane had no plans to follow him. With that, Boba began to climb into the cave. He knew he needed to be in a place where no one could detect the signal from his comlink, and what's more, a place where it would be harder for anyone to physically listen in.

Once he was roughly halfway into the cave, where only a bit of light streamed in from the outside, Boba activated his comlink and spoke into it.

"This is Boba Fett. Come in."

The voice of a familiar Trandoshan came through on the other end.

_"Hello, Boba. I was beginning to worry if you wouldn't be able to reach me."_

"I had to give it some extra time to wait before I called you. I didn't want to raise any suspicions. It's only been a few days since we signed the contract, anyway," Boba replied.

_"Does this mean everything has been set in place, then? You had him sign the contract? And things are going smoothly?"_

"Yes, Bossk. So far, everything is going according to plan. We've already started the training. Right now we're in the Inner Rim and probably heading to do some work on one of the systems here."

_"Do you know how he is going to put your services to use? You could be out of contact with me for some time, depending on what Bane wants."_

"I'm not sure yet. He hasn't mentioned anything about it yet. All we've done for the past few days is get started on the training." Boba hesitated before continuing with his train of thought. "I think that means he's going to have me get involved in a risky job, something he wouldn't want to stoop to. I have a feeling that's what I'm going to have to do to keep up my end of our deal."

_"You'll have to be very careful, Boba. You already know this, but Bane will not feel any obligation to protect you."_

"I know. But pledging my full services to him was the only way I could've gotten this far," Boba replied.

_"So tell me, what's the next part of the plan?"_

Boba leaned against the wall of the cave. Being able to verbally put into words what had been in his head for a long time now – almost two years, in fact – was one of the most underrated feelings in the galaxy. He enjoyed it more than anything.

"Right now, I only have two goals. The first is to learn everything I can from Bane...and I'm sure there is a lot he's willing to teach me. You already know the second...I'm going to gain his trust. Which means I am going to follow all of his orders no matter what. I'm going to prove to him that I'll do whatever he wants me to. It won't be easy, but it's the only way I can get close to him."

_"And what happens after that?"_

"After that?" Boba echoed with a small smile. "Once I have Bane's trust, the time will be right. I will contact you at a safe point, and we'll put the rest of the plan into action. That can only happen once I know for sure that Bane trusts me. He can't have any suspicions towards me. That's when you'll meet up with us."

_"Are you sure this is the best way to do it?"_

"Bossk, we both know this is what's best. If I want to regain my father's title, there's no other way." Boba sighed deeply. "My father was the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. Now Bane has stolen that title away from me. No matter how hard I could try all on my own, Bane's notoriety would always be one step ahead of me. In other words...the only way I can take back what's mine is if Bane dies. And the only way he can die is by my hands."

_"What do you mean, what's yours?"_

"I was supposed to become the best after my father, Jango. But I was too young at the time my father was killed. I lost my chance. Now the only one standing in my way is Bane."

On the other line, he heard Bossk chuckling to himself.

_"Sounds like a well thought out plan. Although I have to wonder how proud Jango would be of you to betray someone's trust like that."_

"It doesn't matter. I've come this far. Bane signed the contract. Now all I have to do is get close to him. So close that he won't suspect anything, and when I do, that's when I'll kill him."

Sooner or later, the time would come. If Boba followed every one of Bane's orders without hesitation, it would not take long for Bane to warm up to him. If Boba did not show any signs of outside connections, Bane would begin to think he was Boba's only connection. Gaining the trust of someone like Cad Bane could prove to be one of the most difficult tasks Boba would encounter. But it wasn't impossible. And Boba did truly believe he could do it.

He could do it. It was only a matter of time before Bane would trust him. That would be the moment that Boba could finally make his move. Then, with Bossk's help in the plan, Boba would eliminate the only person standing between him and the title his father had promised him years ago. The name of Fett had been set to rule the criminal underworld. Jango knew this, and that was what he passed on to Boba. And then Jango was dead, and all of Boba's dreams of training with his father until Jango retired and passed on his legacy directly to his son died along with him.

But he was going to get it all back, Boba knew. Everything that had been taken from him the day Jango was killed, everything that had been cast out in lots for everyone else to take bits and pieces of, and everything Cad Bane now held in his hands once he sealed his own name in infamy. Everything. Boba was going to get it all back.

_Don't worry, Dad. I _will_ make you proud. I _will_ become the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. I will eliminate Cad Bane, no matter what it takes. And I'm going to get everything back that they took from us. I'm going to make you proud._

Such was Boba's own part of the plan he had kindly excluded from the contract. And telling Bane the reasons for choosing him as his trainer could have proved to be enough kindling on the fire of Bane's egotism. That wouldn't last forever. Boba knew he was walking a dangerous path the moment he crafted his plan to kill the rival now standing where Boba should be, but he couldn't hide away in the shadows any longer. There was only one way to take his father's place once again, and this was it.

_"Very well, Boba. I'll wait for you to contact me."_

"You might have to wait a while, Bossk. But don't worry. As soon as the time is right, I'll let you know."

By the time Boba ran out of the cave and back to the fueling station, Bane had been walking in the same direction Boba took to go looking for him. When Bane saw the young bounty hunter approaching, he signaled that the ship was ready to leave.

"Do you wander off like that often?" Bane asked in a mocking tone.

"No, I don't," Boba retorted.

"Maybe to keep you nearby I should give you a chore to occupy yourself. How good are you at polishing boots?"

Boba felt a small clap against his back and he winced. For now he was going to have to take all of Bane's treatment towards him with humility. But it wouldn't be like this forever. One day Bane was going to pay for all of it. All Boba had to do wait for the right moment.

Until then, Boba felt certain this experience of being Cad Bane's apprentice in some sorts wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

* * *

_A/N: Bit of a cheesy premise, I know. But this is the same kid who went after Windu to avenge his father's death, so I have my doubts that he would not also stoop to a plan like this. Watch out, Bane, there is a 12-year-old coming for your blood and 12-year-olds mean business._

_Cad Bane is so full of himself at this point in the timeline that he is totally overlooking Boba's secret plan. You can expect a ton of Boba angst from here on out. Some content in future chapters is also going to get pretty dark and violent, as you may expect...just as a fair warning. In fact, with every chapter, it will probably get a little darker._

_Thoughts? :)_


	4. Chapter the Fourth

"The Bane Of My Past"

Chapter the Fourth

* * *

_Warning: This chapter is going to get kind of slash-y, with lots of flirting and awkward tension. Dirty things between the lines. Nothing extreme, but I thought I would give a fair warning to anyone who isn't much for slash. You might want to skip this chapter. But if you like slash, I hope you find this chapter most entertaining and delightful!_

* * *

_- One month later -_

As Boba sat in the co-pilot seat of _Sleight of Hand_, Bane punched in the coordinates for their next destination. Boba could not help but steal a glance to see if he could guess where they were going. He arched an eyebrow.

"The Core Systems, huh? What are we doing there?"

"No better place to spend a weekend," said Bane. "I thought even you knew that much."

"What do you take me for?" Boba sneered, sinking into his chair. It was starting to really annoy him that Bane treated any tidbit he didn't know about as justification to treat him like he'd been living under a rock his whole life. It made Boba want to finally say what he'd been wanting to say for a long time: _"I know what your real name is, Cadomir Sotulet, and you'd better not forget it."_

"Chandrila system, the capitol. I know lots of hunters who have nice apartments there. It's a swanky kind of place, so nothing's cheap."

"And that's just the way you like it, I imagine."

Bane cracked a grin.

"Exactly. Why else would I charge such a high price for my services?"

After the ship had jumped into hyperspace, Boba crossed his arms and answered,

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe to make a living or upgrade your equipment, but it's just a guess."

"Are you saying _Sleight _isn't good enough for you?"

"Not at all," said Boba, making it clear that that was not the truth. Bane glared at him.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll watch your mouth. I'm in charge here. You got that?"

"Sure..."

_It won't be like this forever. Just hang in there. It won't last._

Soon the ship had left hyperspace and Boba watched as they broke through the Chandrila atmosphere, touching down towards Hanna City. Once they had landed on the ground, Bane stood up and told Boba to come with him. Boba grabbed his helmet.

"May I ask where we are going?"

"Just to see an old friend." Bane smirked. "Well, I don't know if you would exactly call her a _friend_, but...you know. You two have met before."

"Not Aurra Sing...?" Boba inwardly groaned just thinking of the woman who had abandoned him and left him for dead.

"Why not? You don't have to hang out if you don't want to. Go find something fun to do. You have some credits of your own to spend, don't you?"

Boba occupied himself by counting his small pocket of credits as they took the train to one of the less than luxurious neighborhoods of the city. They stopped at a hotel soon after nightfall, small and cozy-looking just like the type of place old friends would want to meet at. Without breaking a stride, Bane walked through the lobby and the hallway on the first floor until he stopped at one of the doors. Boba followed, feeling out of place for a reason he could not pinpoint. Or maybe reuniting with Sing under such circumstances would be too awkward for everyone.

"So is this for business talk, or...?"

"Maybe," Bane muttered before knocking on the door.

It suddenly dawned on Boba just how out of place he was about to be. He looked down at his shoes. His stomach did a small somersault.

"There's an arcade three blocks down, if you'd rather hang out there."

"Sure...I'd be more than happy to." Boba turned and left just in time for Sing to open the door. He didn't even want to know what she was wearing, or rather, how _much_ she was wearing.

Boba left the hotel and proceeded to walk three blocks down to find the arcade Bane had been talking about. Yet, when he found it, nothing in him probed him to walk inside and enjoy himself, even for one game. Instead Boba found himself walking past it and going around the block before continuing on past it. Perhaps once two hours had passed he would make his way back to the ship and wait for Bane there. Strangely enough no matter how much he had grown to hate his loneliness, having time to himself did not feel so bad. The stillness in which he could hear his own thoughts—a privilege he had more than enough of during Kamino days. But that was all gone, now, and now was the time to savor and appreciate the little stillness he could still find in a rather cacophonous world.

For the first time in weeks, Boba was completely alone again. Not to say that when he was back inside _Sleight of Hand _he didn't enjoy Bane's absence. He could put his feet up on the dashboard, for instance, as well as straighten up his bunk and sweep the floor where it was filthy. He counted four hours before Cad Bane returned, and even then, Boba preferred it would have been more like six so Bane could clean himself up.

"How was the 'business talk'?" Boba asked with an invisible roll of the eyes.

Meanwhile, Bane was fastening his belt back on with his duster draped over one shoulder. Boba noticed traces of makeup smeared on his neck and quickly looked away.

"What? That's none of your damn business," Bane slurred.

"You had to wait until we were right outside the room."

"Excuse me for thinking you'd catch on sooner."

"You know how I feel about Sing, so just go to hell," Boba spat under his breath. Then he winced. Surely he'd be severely punished for letting something like that slip out.

To his surprise, Bane just laughed.

"Let's get one thing straight, here, kid...I can fuck whoever the hell I want to."

"You stay away from me until that stuff's worn off," he snapped. With a final huff, Boba jumped out of his chair, crossing his arms as he walked into the next room down. Honestly, as much as Boba wanted to know Bane's psyche inside and out, he also wanted to remain ignorant as to what Bane was capable of when he drank. Boba had seen enough already.

_If I could, I would kill him right now_.

As he prepared for bed, he heard drunken off-key singing accompany the bad radio signal, echoing throughout the ship. Boba groaned.

He had to give it credit, though. Once his disgust wore off that night, he had a wonderfully terrible idea of how he could put Bane to a little test of his own. Since he knew to some degree how alcohol affected sentient beings, Boba played it safe and waited until he could be sure Bane was sober again. Surprisingly, it took longer than Boba thought it would. But studying Bane's movements helped him make a clear decision. For Boba, it was the choice words and metaphors that spiced his dialogue, the rhythm of his walk coordinating with the melody of his mood, and on and on. Boba stepped into Bane's personal living quarters on _Sleight of Hand _not bothering to knock on the door, where he found Bane boring over something on his computer that looked like it involved a new job, but Boba couldn't be sure. The young Fett cleared his throat and Bane spun around in his chair.

"I have a particular request to make," Boba said.

"Yeah, spit it out."

Boba leaned against the open doorway, crossing his arms and leaning one heel on the other. Now he felt uncomfortable, about to put it into words. But like hell he could turn back now.

"Something else I want you to teach me. And, well, I've been thinking about it...you're the only one who really could teach it to me."

"Teach you what?" asked Bane. When he noticed Boba's hesitation in answering, Bane seemed to gain more of his attention. He leaned forward in his chair, his elbows on his knees with his hands folded together, waiting patiently for the young Fett to continue.

"It doesn't have anything to do with bounty hunting. You see, living on Kamino with my father all those years...I didn't have a lot of exposure to the outside world, at least outside my father's world. A year ago, there was this girl I met on Coruscant and I wanted to ask her out. But I had no idea how to do it, so she slipped away from me. Understand?"

"I see. You want me to teach you how to get the girls."

"If you're unwilling to do that sort of thing, I understand completely.." His sentence trailed off when he saw Bane stand up and begin to take off his wrist gauntlets and roll up his sleeves. He had a small smile on his face that Boba was not sure if he should be wary or appreciative of.

"Nah, I'll do it. It's no trouble at all."

Boba smirked back. He planned to play Bane's game right back at him.

"You sound more eager to do it than I thought you'd be. You weren't expecting this or anything?"

"Why, it may have crossed my mind that a little man such as yourself would want lessons on this, but I didn't expect you'd come to me of all people to ask for it."

Boba shrugged.

"Who else is there to ask? And technically speaking, this is part of your deal on the contract anyway."

Bane put on his hat, unfastened the breathing tubes, and leaned on the dashboard on the other end of the room. The young Fett could feel the dark red eyes boring through him.

"Of course, on that note," said Bane, "_your _end of the deal says that I can do whatever I want with you. So we're going to do all of it my way, all right?"

"Fine with me."

"Good. To start, why don't you stand over there on the other end of the room."

Boba did as he was told, wondering exactly what Bane had in mind. He stopped and turned around, looking Bane in the eye and waiting patiently. Bane spoke first.

"Now, imagine I'm some girl you spotted one night at a cantina. Pick what I am."

"Um..." _Something attractive, but not _too _attractive, _thought Boba. "Zeltron?"

"All right, I'm a Zeltron girl. You've been stealing glances at me the whole evening until I finally notice you. This is your chance to make a move."

"I'm trying to imagine that." Come on, how hard could it be?

"What you want to do first is give me the right impression. I just noticed you, so you only have three seconds to prove you're the type of kid I could take an interest in."

"Only three seconds?"

"And that's tops. Now, you'll want to look confident, smart, like you know exactly what you're doing even if you don't. Go on, straighten up your shoulders and puff out your chest a little." Bane waited until Boba was ready to continue. "Don't cross your arms and don't put your hands in your pockets."

"So I got the first impression, now what?"

"Now you have to make your move. Look me in the eye and don't glance away." Bane leaned forward, grinning slightly. "You're doing great. You have my attention, you're making a good impression, now you're showing me you're interested."

"What do I do after that?"

"You start making your moves in. Approach me."

Boba began to walk forward when Bane suddenly held up his hand.

"That's way too fast. You look eager, and that will turn off any girl. Walk slower, but not too slow otherwise you'll appear shy or reluctant." When Boba was walking at the correct pace, Bane nodded. "There, much better. Keep walking just like that."

Boba stopped when he was roughly three feet in front of Bane.

"That's the easy part, though. What about when I want to start talking with her? How do I keep her attention, then? How do I—"

"Relax, kid. It's easy, I've learned a real simple trick. All you have to do is pay attention for things she might like and ask her about them. Let her talk about herself. If you act like you're interested in anything she's interested in, you got her hook, line, and sinker. Even if you're not interested at all...that's the important part. Keep the questions coming, pay attention." Bane pulled up two chairs and sat down in the first one. "So, you want to give it a try?"

"I couldn't. I already know too much about you."

"Yeah, good point," Bane muttered. "Maybe next we're in a spaceport with time to spare, you can watch me do it from a distance and then you'll try it."

Boba stepped back, feeling a bit puzzled. Was this all just playtime or experimenting? Using the opposite sex to get what they wanted? That was all there was to it? He felt like something had been left out, but he didn't know what.

"Let's just skip to the next step. At this point, you have me hooked. You've let me talk about all the things I like and you've asked just enough questions. I'm starting to show that I want to take the conversation another step." Bane inched his chair closer to Boba's. "Now, you'll want to cut to the chase, but you can't go too fast. Again, too eager. Take it nice and slow."

"How slow? How can I be sure?"

"Simple...if I'm starting to look bored or I'm glancing around at the other fellows, you speed things up. If I look a bit overwhelmed, you slow it down and let me start talking about myself again. Got it?"

"I...think so. I'll need to practice, but I'm getting the main idea of it."

"Now you're close enough to make your first physical move. Start nice and easy, but if she looks ready for it, you can push things a bit." Bane gestured for Boba to inch his chair as well. "Now putting your hand over hers is a good way to kick things off, but don't linger there too long. Go on, do it."

"But I—"

"You asked me to teach you, so that's what I'm doing. I'm a Zeltron, remember?"

Boba's cheeks reddened as he did so. His fingernails traced the scratches on the back of Bane's gloves. He tucked in his knees and stared down at the floor. He felt Bane's fingers cup his chin, forcing him to look up.

"Eye contact," Bane said coldly. "Don't forget it."

"All right, all _right_." But Bane still didn't let go of his chin.

"I'm serious. If you forget everything else, remember to look her in the eye. You look away especially while she's talking, that's it, you're stuck with yourself for the night."

"All right, I get it—what in..." Boba's eyes widened as he was pulled closer in still until his face was pressed against Bane's shoulder. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Just showing you what to do next. Girls like it when you give them a little nip on the neck and shoulder. I think it feels exciting, or...something like that. Want to try?"

_Not particularly, _thought Boba, but he figured that while he was down here and stuck in this position, he might as well get it over with. Bane not having the breathing tube device covered his neck was a big mercy on Boba's part. He bared his teeth, bit softly, then yanked back before wiping his mouth. He began to wonder if this was a bad idea. Bane was rubbing his neck where he had been bitten.

"That was good. You haven't practiced already, have you?"

"Keep going. No, let me guess...next you'll want me to put my hand on your leg, give you a little back rub, that sort of thing."

"Now you're catching on. And maybe we'll head out to the dance floor and do a little tango, if the song is right," Bane said, grinning.

Fresh heat rushed to Boba's cheeks and ears, but he continued returning the eye contact. Before Bane could tell him to do so, Boba's hand was on the inside of Bane's thigh and he held it there frozen and rigid before Boba bit his lower lip.

"So I touch her, I dance with her, then what?"

Gently Bane removed Boba's hand and leaned back in the chair, cocking a brow.

"That's when you invite her your place. I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

"Yeah, I think I can." Boba held up his hands. "So, I take it the lesson's all over, then?"

"It can be. Unless..."

Boba's eyes widened as they flashed with anger. Without thinking twice about his actions, he flattened his right hand and drove it across Bane's cheek. The sound of the slap echoed throughout the whole room. Bane turned his head to the side, clearly surprised and not having expected it. Then Boba felt fingers clamp tightly around his wrist and give him a brutal yank. He felt hot breath on his neck, and his spine turned to ice.

"You remember what you gave me in the contract, don't you?" Bane snarled.

Boba tried to pull away, even using a technique Bane had taught him to use in this situation. Of course, it didn't work.

"Get away from me! You scum!"

Just like that, the pressure on his wrist was gone and Boba was released. He stepped back, breathing heavily, as Bane gently rubbed his sore cheek.

"I was just kidding. You don't need to get in such a huff."

"I'm supposed to believe that?"

Bane gave his shoulder a jab, just enough so that Boba winced and pulled back. In reply, Bane made a funny grin. He began backing away.

"You can believe whatever you want. So, did you learn a lot?"

"More than enough. I'm going out." Boba stormed out of the ship grateful that it was a cool night. It helped do away with the chills rippling beneath his skin. The cloudy sky brought down a thick mist that settled over the concrete floor of the city, as city lights flickered far above the underworld. He walked around the empty yard for about twenty minutes before storming back into _Sleight of Hand_, where he faced a long and restless night. Oh well; it hadn't been a complete waste of time. He couldn't wait until he was strong enough to finish it.

* * *

_A/N: Lots of scummy behavior in this chapter, I just realized._

_Fun times for Cad Bane and Boba Fett will not last, though. The next chapter is going to take a more serious, dark turn, and it will only get worse from there. But if time and word limit would allow me to write more scenes like this one, oh, I would._

_See you all soon!_


	5. Chapter the Fifth

"The Bane Of My Past"

Chapter the Fifth

* * *

- _Four weeks later -_

A lengthy four more weeks of hard training had taken it out on Boba, mentally as well as physically. If it was less obvious that Bane was not so much training Boba as he was testing him, the young Fett would not have minded being subjected to such near-impossible tasks as much.

One day, Bane was hired to eliminate a target and his family living on the outskirts of a Naboo city. Since Bane could not care less why the Hutts wanted the job done, only about how much the job would pay him, Boba did the research for himself on his datapad on their way. He did not like what he found. The target, a male Neimoidian, was the head of a smuggling operation, and information recently leaked out that he had been cheating millions of credits off a member of the Hutt family.

Such treachery could not go unpunished, but still...when the order came that the Neimoidian's family had to be killed as well, Boba felt somewhat uneasy. People die all the time; he knew that much. But did the family deserve it? Did they have to be killed? Was it out of pure spite for the Hutts' pleasure, or to keep business clean?

"Let me ask you a question, and keep your answer simple," Bane said as they drew nearer to the star system.

"Yeah, what is it?" Boba asked, putting away his datapad. Better Bane did not know what he had been reading up about.

"How many people have you killed? A rough estimate, maybe. A dozen? More than twenty?"

Boba crossed his arms and twirled his seat away from Bane. Now he knew for sure. All of this was onlya test. Bane was just throwing whatever he could think of in Boba's direction to see how much he could take. Of course this had to happen. Bane probably thought he would get a lot of personal satisfaction if he managed to make the son of Jango Fett snap and back out of his own contract.

_Two can play at that game, you know, _Boba thought.

In fact, this job could be his chance to pass Cad Bane's test once and for all. To show him what Boba was capable of. He had to push his thoughts on the supposed innocence of the Neimoidian's family out of his mind. The sooner Bane started taking him seriously, the sooner Boba would earn his trust. And trust was the only objective here. That, _and _figuring out how one goes about killing a bounty hunter like Bane.

Boba turned back around to face him again.

"Sorry...I couldn't give you an answer for that one."

"Oh, that few, huh?"

"Actually, I never thought to keep count. It just never seemed that important to me," said Boba, intentionally keeping his voice in a conversational tone, like they might as well have been talking about the weather. "Why? You're not telling me _you've _kept track?"

"I ask the questions around here, kid, not you..." Bane paused to grin, "...and by the way, I can always tell when you're lying through your teeth, just so you know that."

"I've killed before. It doesn't matter how many times," Boba cut him off. His comment seemed to be enough for Bane, who relaxed in his seat, still grinning. If he were any less intelligent Boba would have physically removed that grin himself.

"Still talking big, I see. You know, I expect you'll never change that."

"I don't care what you expect."

When they arrived on Naboo to the location of the target's home, Bane instructed Boba to follow behind when Bane entered the house. If anyone tried to escape, Boba was ordered to kill them on the spot. Once the target was eliminated, they would finish the job by killing anyone else in the house. For his services, Boba would receive twenty percent of the payment, no matter how much he helped. A cheap-skate move, but Boba thought twice before grumbling about it.

He armed himself with a blaster rifle as he watched Bane go inside. The house was located on a strip of fields full of barns that appeared abandoned, but a packed freeway stood not far away that led directly to the Naboo capitol. An ideal place to lead a smuggling operation, Boba reflected.

From inside the house, Boba heard a blaster shot, then a loud scream. Another blaster shot sounded, but Boba could immediately tell it had not been from Bane's weapon. The second blaster fired multiple times as the screams continued. Boba stayed put, but his second nature urged him to go inside and find out what was happening.

As for the danger of the situation, that didn't matter to him. The important thing was which action would win over Bane's respect for the young Fett. Should he follow orders and stay? Or should he disobey orders and do what he felt would be most beneficial to the job?

The gunfire continued. By listening, Boba could tell more than one person was armed inside the house besides Bane. Boba squeezed the rifle, thinking hard. If he made the wrong move, it could destroy everything he had been working on for many weeks now. Then he would have suffered all this time for nothing...

_You can do this. Just focus. Concentrate. Don't worry about what's going to happen. I can do this._

He broke into a dead run for the side entrance to the house. Inside, the walls smoldered with black, burning holes from the laser bolts. He saw a Neimoidian at the top of the stairs, and without thinking, Boba aimed and fired, hitting him in the chest. He continued through the main room until he found Bane at the bottom of another flight of stairs, his hands raised in the air. One Neimoidian was on either side of him. The one Boba quickly recognized as the target was speaking, and since no one had noticed Boba yet, he ducked behind a pillar. The second Neimoidian was a boy who appeared to only be around eight years old, yet he managed to hold a blaster as big as his forearm.

"We'll have to kill him and dispose of the body. Then we can leave Naboo for good," the target was saying.

"I'd think again if I were you," said Bane. Clearly he had no backup plan, and was stalling for Boba. Perfect.

He knew Bane would want to be the one to personally eliminate the target, and he trusted Bane could take care of it. Boba aimed for the child Neimoidian.

Poor kid...probably forced into the violence of the smuggling trade, now holding someone at gunpoint. Maybe the child had not done anything wrong. Maybe he was completely innocent.

At that moment, Boba realized a dark, awful truth. Whether or not this child was innocent could not and should not matter to him from where he stood as a bounty hunter. Innocence was not a factor in who deserved life or death. The only factor was what you were being paid to do, and if the payment involved the killing of innocent, then so be it. He saw for the first time the true levels of depravity in this world, that the money in one's pockets was worth more than the goodness in one's heart, so that at the end of the day it did not matter if you tried to maintain the goodness or not. How he had not seen that all this time, he couldn't say...maybe Jango's plan had been to protect him from the truth while he still could. But even that did not matter anymore.

Boba pulled the trigger, hoping that the last light of life in the child's eyes would not come back to haunt him later.

As soon as the child fell dead, Bane turned on the target, attacking him so that he released the weapon and was pummeled to the floor. Bane stood up, retrieved his blaster, and killed the target instantly. Boba approached him and asked if anyone else was still in the house.

"You'll have to check the upstairs," Bane said, and brushed some debris off the tip of his hat.

As Boba ascended the staircase, he counted off the bodies he walked past in the house. Six of them. Who knows how many more they would find? Boba found a hallway with several rooms, and he proceeded to search through every room in all the places he had been taught to look for smugglers—a technique Jango introduced and Cad Bane expanded on. When Boba reached the last room, he felt fairly certain nobody would be inside.

He was wrong. Two children, the same age as the first, hid in the back closet. One had a weapon, but Boba easily disarmed him. He stared down at the two, a boy and a girl, who shook like leaves in their hiding place. They appeared to be brother and sister. Boba saw the pleading in their eyes. 'Don't kill us, please don't kill us. Don't kill us for our parents' crimes.'

"Hey, kid. You coming? We're losing daylight," Bane hollered from downstairs.

"I, uh...sure, I'm coming."

_Sorry, kids. It's nothing personal._

Two shots later, Boba returned downstairs. The house, save for the two of them, was empty. Despite his efforts, Boba still only received twenty percent of the reward, but without the grumbling reluctance he had expected from Bane.

That night they decided to wind down by playing a late game of dejarik. Boba felt tired, so he said little, and Bane was not the type to strike up a conversation just to beat the silence. Thus, it startled Boba when Bane spoke up one-third into the game.

"You did good today. Granted you disobeyed a direct order. But sometimes improvisation is needed on the job, and you handled it well. I can see you're more of a fast learner than I originally took you for," Bane told him.

"You really think so?" Boba asked, hoping he didn't sound too eager.

"Of course not, I was just flattering you," he replied in a tone marinated with sarcasm. "By the way, it's your move."

Boba smiled to himself as he grabbed his next piece on the board. Yes, he thought, it _was_ his move. He had proven himself out in the field, and Bane swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. Now all Boba had to do was earn more of his trust until the time arrived. He had put up with Bane's bullying and pushing him around long enough, and now it had finally begun to pay off. His move, indeed, in this little game they were playing.

_And I'm going to win._

* * *

That night, Boba had a nightmare.

_Geonosis. The arena. The hot sand sticking to the back of his throat. Blisters on his palms, his throat choked with sobs he refused to let out._

_The purple blade swung down through a ray of darkness, hacking into Jango's shoulders. Swung down again. Again. Slicing, tearing, with that smug look on his face Boba did not know was only his imagination. Every time it came down he screamed for the Jedi to stop, but his throat was choked so terribly he could not utter out a word. He did not say a word. He _could not_. His father died in front of him and it was his fault all because he could not say or do anything to stop the Jedi._

_Dad, no! Daddy, no! You can't die!_

_You can't leave me, Dad!_

_I'm all alone, I'm all alone, Dad no, you can't die! Oh, gods...gods, I'm alone! _I'm alone! _Dad's gone...he's not coming back and they killed him, Dad, I want you back._

_What do I do now? _What do I do now!

_Stop it! Dad, please! Make it stop!_

_When it stopped, Boba could speak and breathe again._

_He is standing alone on a rock in the middle of a wheat field. Rain clouds gather overhead. The air feels thick and humid. What is that, in the distance? A dark post of some sort. Even from this far away, the dark post smells of something vile. It smells of death. Horrible stench, really. Boba takes closer and closer steps. The ground is like a sponge, moist and sinking with every step. Clouds are darkening overhead, because nightfall is coming, and it could be any minute now. He realizes it is more than just a post...there is a horizontal platform, a ninety degree angle, a rope. It is a gallows with a hangman's noose. A body hangs on the end of the rope. Something about the body is so familiar to him, Boba has to find out who it is._

_A gust of wind turns the body around so that it is facing Boba as he stands, looking at it. He sees a face, gray and withered with its eyes pecked out, but it's like looking into a mirror. He _is _looking into a mirror._

_He grabs his throat. No rope. Yet there he is, hanging from the noose._

_Boba screams and falls backward onto the ground. Now it is no longer like a sponge but strong as concrete, and hits his back roughly. Boba backs away, his eyes stinging. He must run away from the field as quickly as he can, but when he tries he looks down and finds an object in his hand. It is not a blaster, as he had been expecting...no, it is a...lightsaber?_

_A _purple _lightsaber?_

_There is a helmet lying on the ground, and Boba can feel the impact of his own lightsaber striking down upon shoulders, swinging and tearing._

_He realizes what he had done. That was not a Jedi killing his father. The Jedi did not take Dad away from him. Did not leave him alone without a clue of what to do._

_Boba, it was you all along. _You _did it! _You _killed him! _You _took him and now you are all alone and it is _your fault_!_

_I didn't want to! I'm sorry, Dad, I didn't mean to! How could I have killed him? Why did I do this? I don't want it! Boba throws away the lightsaber and falls to his knees, clawing at the earth until his fingernails are chewed away, because he must bury the damned purple lightsaber as quickly as possible. He has to get rid of it. He has to get away. It wasn't his doing. It wasn't mine! Dad, I'm sorry, please forgive me, I just wanted to make you proud! But he looks up in time to see a shadow standing over him as the rain clouds turn that foreboding ugly green shade. Boba smiles at him, licking the dirt off the tips of his fingers._

_Why, what brings you out here?_

_What makes you think I did it? I didn't do a thing. I just came upon the body, I wasn't the one who actually did the hanging. Don't look at me like that...please don't, I need to...what are you doing? Why are you doing that? No, no, don't do it! I didn't kill him! Dad, help me!_

_Your father cannot help you now, Boba. You're all alone, remember?_

_Oh gods, what do I do now?!_

_He feels a burning sensation across his shoulders, watches his own head fall to the spongy earth, and thunder claps across the sky one last time, before _Boba woke up screaming. _Help, help!_

He stopped. All he could see was darkness, with the small blue light from above illuminating his own body. He looked down. The bed sheets were tangled around his legs and soaked with perspiration. Sweat ran down his forehead and neck and dampened his palms, but he felt freezing cold.

Boba glanced around. The freight loading room of _Sleight of Hand_; that was where he was. He began to take deep breaths to calm himself down.

_It was just a dream_, he told himself. It was nothing more than a dream.

To calm himself down, Boba counted backwards from one-hundred until he could breathe normally again. Then he fixed his pillow and sheets, and tried to lie down in a comfortable position. He hated dreams. He hated how they brought back all the things he had tried for so long to push away. Someday he would have to do something about that.

The emotions he experienced from the dream remained too sharp. To stifle a sob, Boba covered his mouth. Squeezing his eyes shut, he refused to let the tears flow. He was _not_ going to cry. Especially not now.


	6. Chapter the Sixth

"The Bane Of My Past"

Part II

Chapter the Sixth

* * *

___- Three years later -_

_17 BBY_

Funny how life works this way.

You find yourself repeating old patterns, despite what they told you about repeating patterns. You return to an old cologne or a mixed drink because of the people and experiences enticing it. You coin a habit once lost to conjure up a small sense of humor in a humorless state. And then, no matter what instinct told you, you went back to those places because of the memories clinging to them, spiders to a web of images and voices you will never forget.

Maybe war did that sort of thing to people. War did a lot of things, anyhow.

As for Boba Fett, this particular place was the abandoned theatre house. Once again, he was completely alone. Coronet City, Corellia system. The same theatre house in which he signed a contract with Cad Bane that sealed Bane as his teacher in return for Boba's devoted services. They made that contract exactly three years ago, now.

What a three years it had been.

As Boba pulled out a cleaning rag and began to polish the newly accumulated scratches and war marks on his helmet—none of which he had plans to paint over, as Jango would have—he found himself reliving the past three years in the form of memories. The events ringed off in his head like a holojournal highlighting the most significant details, leaving the days that blended together or felt dirty to recall mingled as the in-betweens. In three years, Boba felt that he had aged thirty.

If everything in those three years had gone _his _way, Cad Bane would be dead right now. Of course life never worked that way, did it? It threw creases and pits into the road. For the record, however, Boba did receive a full and uninterrupted three months of training from Bane. Boba walked into the contact with full intentions of learning what he could from a bounty hunter such as Bane, of course, but he concealed his true motive: to kill Bane, thus reclaim his father's place as the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. During this time, Boba learned a great deal about everything from piloting and hand-to-hand combat, to mechanics and bartering and how to read clients. All the things Jango had planned to teach him before his life was cut too short.

Bane, meanwhile, used the contract to get whatever he needed or wanted out of Boba, but more often than not, Bane chose the latter. On Bane's gracious days, Boba got to help with a job and receive partial payment for it. On others, he ended up cleaning Bane's ship, getting information from people Bane wasn't in the mood to deal with, and other dirty jobs. Nevertheless, for fairness' sake, Bane treated the contract seriously when he had to. And as long as Boba got proper training in, Bane saw no problem whatsoever with filling between the lines with other ideas. Boba learned to despise any of Bane's 'ideas'.

Boba tolerated such behavior, keeping the end goal in mind, and what an end goal indeed: the man currently humiliating him and his family name killed by Boba's own hand. Some probably died only wishing for the pure thought of such a goal. He nursed that dream over the blisters on his palms, scabs on his knees, and sleepless nights when he woke up screaming from another nightmares.

He could narrow down the end of those three months to one event. One single event that neither of them could imagine would drive them apart and suspend the contract. But again, that was how life was sometimes. It pulled the rug out from under you just when you could balance your weight again.

One day, after a strenuous training exercise on a mountainous moon system, Cad Bane pulled Boba aside to inform him of some good news. He'd been hired by one of the most dangerous criminals currently active: Moralo Eval.

Naturally, to bounty hunters, being hired by dangerous criminals was always good news. It was the dangerous ones, after all, who offered the highest payment.

Bane explained that his job involved breaking Moralo Eval out of a Republican prison on Coruscant. The reasons for Eval's release, at the time, remained unclear to both Bane and Boba. But they knew it had to be important.

"That leaves a small dilemma for the two of us," Bane said over the dejarik table. "If I'm going to break Eval out of that prison, I'll have to do it from inside. I have to turn myself in first."

"That can't be too hard. You're wanted on every Republic-controlled system."

"Yes, but, the trick is to not make it too obvious. If you just waltz in and demand they put you behind bars, they'll smell something. I'll have to come up with a way that they won't suspect Eval's plan."

Boba realized what Bane was trying to tell him. This job had to put their contract on hold until Bane finished his job for Moralo Eval. Until then, where would Boba live? What would he do? Before Boba could speak, Bane raised his hand.

"I have an idea about where we can plant you. If you turned yourself in as well, I could use you in the breakout plan."

"You think so? I don't know. What if it doesn't work? Then I'll be stuck in a prison, and the contract will be on hold until I bust out. That could take a while."

Bane shook his head.

"Don't worry about that. I have an idea of how I'm going to break us out of prison, and I could use your help. You could create a...a diversion of some sort. Are you willing to do that?"

Boba thought for a moment. Three months ago, Bane wouldn't even think to offer him such an important role in a high-risk operation. But that's what proving you kept your word pulled off with someone like Bane. Probably the most important thing the past months had taught him about Bane was this: Bane's respect must be earned through action. Your word or the word of others didn't cut it; you had to physically show him what you could do, and then, if it impressed him, you had done something right.

Every time Boba agreed to do a task Bane knew he hated doing, Bane showed he was leaning more on Boba's loyalty bound through the contract. Which was exactly what Boba wanted. This job would be an even bigger step toward getting close to Bane, and plus, the time would be coming soon when Boba felt he could physically subdue Bane in combat given the perfect storm of a situation.

It wouldn't be much longer now, and Boba's waiting would come to an end.

Boba nodded in agreement.

"I'll do it."

"Good. Now, we'll keep the contract between ourselves, so stay your distance while we're in prison. If the breakout happens and you can't escape, I'll send someone in to get you out."

And so their plan was set in place. Even then, both of them had no idea the true size of the operation they were about to play a part in. In reality, much bigger hands were at stake than who busted out of prison.

Less than a few weeks passed and the time came. Bane and Boba had been in the prison for some time, and Boba watched out of the corner of his eye as Bane befriended Moralo Eval and the two prepared for their escape. Before they could initiate the plan, however, Boba ran into his old friend, Bossk, who he had not been in contact with for months. Of course, Bossk was all ears into how the contract with Bane had been going, and Boba filled in bits and pieces for him when he could. On the day of the breakout, Bane quietly recommended that Boba single out a Human named Rako Hardeen. Seeing Boba and Hardeen entangled, Bossk jumped in as well, and a riot ensued. The riot ended up costing the lives of over two dozen prisoners, and scores more were sent to the hospital. The number of those who escaped was never revealed. Unfortunately for the young Fett, he never did manage to go free, just as he had feared. And he found himself stuck in prison waiting to be bailed out like a child.

Not one of his greatest memories, to say the least.

Three weeks after Bane and Eval escaped, a Kyuzo bounty hunter named Embo arrived at the same prison and Boba. Boba came to learn that Embo had been in on the same operation as Bane and Eval, but Embo had been caught by two Jedi while on the job.

This had to be the bounty hunter Bane sent in to free him, Boba realized. Despite the difficulty in starting a conversation with Embo—something about him which would annoy Boba Fett for many years afterward—Boba eventually convinced the Kyuzo that they could break out of prison together. Bossk joined in on the escape plan, and by the end of that month, all three of them were out.

After his escape, Boba, Embo, and Bossk parted their own ways. As for Boba, he needed to find out what happened to Bane so they could renew the contract. He did some asking around and checking the daily reports, but all of this only brought bad news. Eval's operation had failed, and as a result Bane was arrested and sent to a different prison. Boba recognized the name of the prison as a much larger and more highly secure one, the kind of prison where convicts went in and no one ever saw them again.

During this period of awkward waiting for more news regarding Cad Bane, Bossk stayed by Boba's side. To afford new equipment and a place to stay, Boba took a few jobs alongside Bossk and a few other bounty hunters here and there, whatever he could find. Eventually Bossk popped the inevitable question.

"You know, Boba, if Bane never gets out of that prison, you've already won."

Three years later, sitting in the theatre house, Boba smiled softly at the memory.

It would have been nice for him had Bossk been right. But that was too much to ask for, wasn't it? Boba had already decided that the best way he could regain his father's legacy was to do this himself.

Every bounty hunter needs a reputation. Every bounty hunter, at some point, came upon a job that would challenge everything about him and that made him who he was, but he knew that if he came through on the other side, his name would never be the same again. It was only a matter of knowing the challenge when it landed on your doorstep, and not shying away from it, and Boba Fett had long assured himself he knew what he had to do. What better way to pave his own way to fortune and fame than eliminate the rival who rose to glory after his father. You only read that stuff in the fairy-tales. His father's glory would be restored, and Cad Bane would be long forgotten by the masses. That's how it had to happen.

Besides, if Bane simply rotted away in prison, nobody would have fun.

At least a couple months must have passed before Boba finally heard some news. According to Aurra Sing, she had spotted Bane on Nal Hutta. And the local buzz involved that a Jedi had come to the Hutt Palace and picked a fight with Bane, who took down the Jedi one night before leaving town. But Boba lost his trust in Sing a long time ago, so he couldn't be sure if it was true. Around the time Boba heard about Bane's escape and spotting on Nal Hutta, even more interesting news struck.

Chancellor Palpatine had been kidnapped by the Separatist leader, General Grievous.

Boba kept his eyes open, figuratively speaking, to the latest war news, but only because whoever won would affect their line of work dramatically. The war, for many, was a time when lots of money was thrown around, deals and partnerships exchanged, more spending than saving, and a lot of action. All good things for the mercenary, of course. Work for bounty hunters increased with conflict, and when the Clone Wars came to an end, Boba knew a lot of them were going to disappear or die off. Some might settle down with what little they had made and live the rest of their lives in peace. Others would join the Guild, keep working, and maybe strike luck in time. The rest would fall into the cracks left by the aftermath of war—executed for assisting one side or the other, forced to pay off debts, or mindlessly killed by way of restoring the peace. That was what war did.

Boba had known this before he even knew what war looked like or sounded like, but experiencing it firsthand as soon as he was out on his own taught him a lot more than he would have liked to know at his age. But there was nothing he could do about it now expect keep moving.

So when he heard the Chancellor had been kidnapped, he realized it was only a matter of time before the war ended. He needed to be ready for it. Deciding he could not sit around and wait for Cad Bane any longer, Boba took the next job offer he found and performed it successfully. During the job, he ended up leading an operation with the support of other hunters like Latts Razzi, Dengar, Highsinger, and Bossk. It did not end successfully, but it was a decent enough practice in leadership skills, so he couldn't complain too much. Within a month, he had found more work functioning as a leader. By this time, Boba began to wonder if he even needed the contract anymore. He was doing just fine on his own, and during those months he still heard nothing from Cad Bane. Who knew what Bane was up to, or if he was still interested in the contract. Still, Boba wanted to keep things neat and official; if they were going to break the contract, it couldn't be done passively. When he had the chance, he wanted to either continue or end things in permanent, just so he could be sure.

The young Fett watched the world fall apart around him, and all he could do was watch and wait for the opportunity to find some benefit out of the chaos. That was what he was now. A beneficiary of chaos. He profited from others' suffering, loss, death, devastation.

Was he all right with it? That didn't even matter.

It kept him alive and made him stronger; that was all.

Years later he would remember the chaos of those last days of the Galactic Republic, and how entirely lonely he felt, and how much he wished his father were still here.


	7. Chapter the Seventh

"The Bane Of My Past"

Chapter the Seventh

* * *

Then, in the wake of the final nail in the Republic's coffin, the Jedi Order was dragged down with it. Or so Boba Fett was told.

He remembered the day he saw the holoimage of the Jedi Temple. General Grievous' death had just been confirmed by the Republic; the war was over. Unofficially, but still over. Then, from his outpost on Nar Shaddaa, Boba looked upon the holoimage of the Temple as it burned against the Coruscant night sky. The next morning, he read reports that the Jedi Order had attempted to overthrow the Chancellor, and as a result, were being killed off by the Republic.

He didn't know how much of this to believe or what he should believe at all.

In the Republic's place, it was declared that a Galactic Empire would stand. When the news reached Boba's hideout, he felt slight unease about what the future may hold. An empire would have stricter laws, tighter government; squeezing between the cracks by working for various crime syndicates would prove to be difficult. However, not to say it was impossible. Nevertheless Boba decided to tread carefully during those months. Years later he came to understand the importance of this decision.

Oddly enough, during this time Boba heard nothing of what his other associates were doing, including Cad Bane. He could only wonder if they may have been killed in the war, rounded up into one of the Empire's new high-security prisons, or simply retired. With the war over, Boba expected to see many familiar faces leave the scene. But it was hard to say. For some, he could not see them going down so easily all for the end of the Clone Wars.

Those days were confusing, almost to the verge of chaotic. Boba stayed safe in his own place, deciding to avoid the crowds and wait until the worst of it had passed. Everyone had a different opinion on what exactly transpired to end the war, the Republic, and the Jedi Order. Of course, the general public accepted the main broadcasts, but Boba's kind wouldn't settle for it; after all, even if it were true, it was still not the whole truth as the full story was never told to the public. Boba had speculations of his own, but kept quiet. It was pointless to argue when none of them would know for sure what happened.

Only a couple days after seeing the holoimage of the burned Jedi Temple, Boba received a job offer from Dengar. The Empire had put out a large bounty on the head of any Jedi, and according to rumor, some Jedi had escaped the Temple and were now fugitives in the lower levels of Coruscant. Dengar wanted to pull together a team of bounty hunters to find as many Jedi as they could and deliver them to the Empire.

Boba Fett, naturally, accepted Dengar's offer. After all, a team could do a lot more than an individual, and the Empire's reward was substantial. When Boba found the team, he saw that Aurra Sing was with them. He approached her the first chance he could and asked her if Bane was still alive. In reply, Aurra Sing just laughed, much to Boba's surprise.

"Last I heard, he was. But he got into some trouble with some fellow stationed on Ryloth, so I haven't a clue. Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Finding himself deep in the Coruscant underworld, Boba joined Dengar's team and proceeded to hunt down the fugitive Jedi. Within days, Boba had discovered through investigation and black market knowledge that a merchant on Level 1213 was harboring Jedi and helping them escape the planet. Boba tracked down the merchant all on his own, and discovered he would have to use the merchant's family as leverage to be informed of where the Jedi were hiding. But it didn't matter if they were innocent or not. What mattered was getting the job done.

Naturally, to keep business tight and clean, Boba had his two droid henchmen exterminate the entire family before he made his way to the hideout and used one of the droids to send in a toxic gas that would paralyze everyone inside the hideout. He received nearly three million credits for this task alone. Three million would, in time, give Boba _Slave I _back, as well as cover the price for upgrading his armor and equipping himself with new weapons.

So that meant it was all worth it, then. Wasn't it?

Of course it was.

Don't think about it...don't let yourself think...just get the job done. That was the secret.

Over the course of nearly two more months, Dengar and the team proceeded to turn in several Jedi Padawans and a small handful of Knights. Some of them, when found and cornered, begged for mercy, that they would pay any sum if they were allowed to escape. Of course, none were granted such mercy. These were usually the Padawans, sick or wounded and hardly able to stand on their own. Boba hated those the most, for he could see the terror and grief in their eyes that had not been so absent from his heart that day on Geonosis. He saw that they had lost their homes and the only family they knew overnight, and who were once deemed the galaxy's greatest warriors had stooped to begging for mercy at the hands of simple bounty hunters. Quite a disgrace, come to think of it. Boba was glad to send them away.

Some refused to stop fighting, not even when their lightsabers were shot out of their hands and they were strapped down with binders—they cut their flesh open to break free, attacking with bare hands and teeth, until what remained of their bodies after they had been riddled senseless with laser bolts was tossed into a body bag and delivered to the Empire.

Most of them simply accepted their fate, laid down their lightsaber, and came in quietly. It was as if they had been waiting to be caught, and they wanted to die.

By the end of two months, Boba had seen enough trembling, screaming, and dying in the underworld. Returning to the surface, into the light, was too much to ask for now. Boba knew that if there ever had been a light in this sick, depraved universe, it had already died out some time ago. All the things he had seen were only prove that no light could exist, not now, not as the world fell apart around them.

* * *

In the next two years, Boba's bounty tallies quadrupled. He improved his personal strategies and techniques, strengthened his alliances with Bossk and Dengar along with a few others, and finally began to see the result of all his hard work. Two years had kept him plenty busy, he granted that.

For almost an entire year, Boba Fett heard no news relating to Bane except the ridiculous rumors. He asked around when he could. But starting from when he escaped the prison, nobody had the slightest idea as to what happened to him. Bane might as well have disappeared from the galaxy. Based on Aurra Sing's knowledge and Bane's invisibility, Boba Fett safely assumed that Bane was killed somewhere during the final months before and after the Clone Wars. It seemed unlike him to intentionally vanish or retire, at least from what Boba knew of him. And assuming he was dead settled just fine with Boba. It made his job easier.

Now, at last, the name 'Fett' was starting to become infamous again. He was close. So very close to his goal. Almost there he could practically taste it, but just, not _quite_.

Then, one year after the war, something came up. Boba, following his usual habit, was keeping track of the other hunters' tallies. Where Boba's name had started, like any other name, on the bottom, it was now rising to the middle and steadily climbing. During one of these habits, Cad Bane's name appeared on the tally list. Startled, Boba checked the data. According to the list, Bane had done some work for the head of a spicing company on the Tatooine system. Boba checked the sources for the information, and they all cleared out. Bane was alive after all.

Boba quickly decided his next part of the plan. The fact that Bane still lived changed the game for both of them.

As with the bounty hunter, reputation is critically important. And Boba knew that no matter how high his tallies reached in the years to come, he would be missing that one important link: taking out the hunter above him on the ladder. Killing someone like Cad Bane would certainly be a high mark on his history, a stepping stone that drew him even closer to his goal. After all, doing simple work for a spicing company had still put Bane's name higher on the list, based on his previous tallies as well as his great experience in the field. All of it worked in Bane's favor. If Boba were to kill him, he could only imagine how high up his name would be, how many would notice him and hire him for more work to solidify his growing reputation. The missing piece of the puzzle had fallen right back into his lap.

Still, Boba had gotten to know Cad Bane very well in the several months they spent together under the contract. And through his extensive study of Bane's psyche, skills, drives, and setbacks, nothing indicated Bane was the type to disappear from the scene like that. Which left Boba scratching his head for some time before he made the first move.

When Boba sent out a request to Bane to meet again and discuss the unfinished contract, Boba did not expect a reply. It would make Boba's job more difficult, but surely not impossible. That was why Boba was surprised when Bane's answer arrived less than a standard week later.

The designated meeting place: the same theatrehouse in Coronet City, Corellia system, that they met in years ago to discuss the very same contract.

* * *

Two days later, Boba Fett found himself sitting on the old stage. It had accumulated more dust, and the floorboards groaned more loudly. The walls showed more signs of wear. If Boba didn't know any better, he'd say the theatrehouse looked ready to fall apart any second. But, like his own reputation, it would hold together, however fragile it seemed.

Boba stood upon the stage, looking out to the auditorium filled with empty seats as he waited for Bane to arrive. He wore his helmet over his head, watching the dust particles through the red-tinted beams of light filtering through the stained glass windows on either side of the stage. He reached out and brushed one of the curtains with his hand. A cold wind swept through the room, making the walls moan with age. War had come and gone and still the theatrehouse stood through it all. When the second war came and went, would it still be here?

At recalling the foolish, naïve young lad he had been back then, Boba forced back a bitter laugh. It felt as if twenty or thirty years had passed since, what with all he had seen and did after it. The boy who once sat upon this same stage had died, his shoes filled in with the man standing there now. Whatever drove him to this place before had been replaced. He wondered what that little boy would make of who he had become in a mere four years...would he be proud, horrified, disgusted? Maybe a combination of all three. And he would never admit it to himself how he found himself missing that little boy from time to time, the kid who could he could have anything he wanted and his future was laid out for him on a silver platter. Somewhere along the way, that spark was lost to the cold.

War _did _do that sort of thing to people, Boba supposed. And you find yourself repeating old patterns, trying to find humor through an old habit you used to know, and going back to the places that teemed with memories just so you could feel again.

Yes...funny how life worked that way.

* * *

_A/N: Thank you so much to all who have been reviewing so far! :)_

_I feel kind of bad for 'rushing' this part of the story and covering a lot of ground like that...had I the time and resolve I would make this a much longer fic chronicling Boba's entire journey that I went through quite swiftly these past two chapters. But this is not just about Boba; it's about Boba and Bane. Not to mention I'm writing this as back-story setup for a future long fic I will be posting as soon as this one is done._

_As you can tell the more 'fun' parts of this fic are over and it's going to get pretty dark from here on. Hope you enjoy the rest of the story! :)_


	8. Chapter the Eighth

"The Bane Of My Past"

Chapter the Eighth

* * *

The side door opened. Same door that he opened the last time they were here.

Boba turned in the direction of the sound. This time, _he _was going to be the first to speak up.

"So you accepted my invitation after all."

No answer. Boba saw Cad Bane's shadow approach the stage. Something was different. Frightfully different. Boba had it figured out by the time Bane had reached the top step leading to the stage. Sometime in the past three years, Bane had developed a limp in his walk. It was not one that seemed to cripple him, but it was enough that Boba could tell it slowed him down.

"Of course I did."

"The only reason I requested your coming is I don't like loose threads. Our contract was never fulfilled, and we never officially terminated it either. So whichever we decide, I want to settle it with you."

"Sure. No loose threads. Makes perfect sense." Then Cad Bane stepped into the light. Boba stared at him. Bane did not look like Boba anticipated he would. His complexion was paler and more chapped, as if he had been working under a blistering hot sun for too long. His old duster was covered with a tan and sunset orange poncho, and the gadgets on his arms had been modified as well. Most of his outfit had also been replaced in favor of what seemed to be more simple clothing. Most noticeably, a vertical scar divided Bane's left eye, paling the middle.

The hat had not changed a bit.

"Nice to see a familiar face for once. How have you been?" Bane asked.

At this point, Boba thought Bane would snark, smile, or stick a toothpick in his mouth. He did none of the above.

"_I'll_ start with the questions, if that's fine with you."

"Sure, ask away."

_Now _I'm_ the one ordering Bane around? _Boba grinned beneath the helmet. _Well, I think I could get used to _this_. Yeah. I definitely could._

"Why don't you sit down? You look tired." Boba gestured to the two chairs.

Bane nodded, and looked grateful to have somewhere to sit. He relaxed in the chair as Boba sat down as well, and kept a watchful eye on the Duros bounty hunter. Bane hunched forward in the chair, resting his hands on the table.

"First of all, why did you abandon me?" Boba asked, keeping his voice calm. "You were supposed to bail me out of jail. And when I was out, you never came back for me to continue the contract. What happened?"

"What can I say? A lot of things happened, Fett. A hell of a lot."

"I'm listening."

"The prison I was sent to after the operation failed was high-security. Took me months to figure out how to escape that one. I needed to hide, stay undercover. I couldn't risk going out and looking for you. So for some time I stayed low until I figured it was safe to come out."

"I see. But even after that, you still didn't contact me."

"I had a crime family on my tail. Right about that time was when we heard about what happened to the Jedi Order." Bane sighed. "Suffice it to say it was too dangerous to start looking for each other. I had no choice. I had to put it on hold for a while. Understand?"

"At the least, you could have contacted me."

"Well, I didn't. Are you happy now?"

_Sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. He's really turned sour in three years, _Boba thought.

"Sorry, but no, I'm not happy." Boba leaned back in his chair. "Neither of us held up our end of the deal."

"Then why am I here? Just so we can cancel the damn contract and be done with it?" Bane snarled, and rubbed the corner of his one good eye. Then he let out a string of dry coughs, and the nastiness of its sound startled Boba.

"Actually, I was wondering if you'd be interested in renewing the contract."

"Oh, I see." When Bane had finished coughing, he looked up and stared hard. Even though Boba had his helmet on, he felt that Bane could see right through it into Boba's own eyes, searching them carefully. "Just from my observation, you don't look like you need my help anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I checked your records, and your tallies. Seems like you've been taking good care of yourself these past few years." The corner of Bane's mouth lifted for an instant and then it was gone. "Guess a few things I taught you actually stuck. Big surprise there."

"As it would seem. I was interested in the contract mostly because, I think there's still a mutual benefit in it. But now the benefits have changed," said Boba.

"I don't need your help, and you don't need mine...so what's the point?"

_He's not being serious, is he? He hasn't been hired in over a year...at this point his points will start falling rapidly if he doesn't get back into the game. Not to mention the longer he stays away from jobs the more his reputation will suffer. Has he gone crazy? And why the hell would he disappear for a whole year, anyway?_

_No, I'm thinking about this all wrong. Bane knows all of that. This was on purpose. I have no idea what kind of purpose he's looking for, though. I suppose I'll just have to watch and wait._

_Wait a minute...I know how to get at him. I know what he wants. It's worth a try._

"I don't know...I just assumed that being out of work for a year, you're starting to need the money. And why not make said money through reforming an old partnership? It'd save both of us time, wouldn't it...Cadomir Sotulet?"

This was exactly why he had decided to wear his helmet. Boba Fett grinned as he watched Bane quickly react to both the statement and the sound of his old name. Bane's eyes widened, he bristled, and he clenched his jaw as his hands tightened into fists.

"I swear, Fett, you call me that name again and—"

"And you'll what? You'll kill me?" Still grinning, Boba pulled back from the table and jumped out of his chair, standing with his arms held out at his sides to expose his armored chest. "Go ahead, try it. Let's see how much of your training stuck with me."

"There's worse things to do to a man than kill him. You should know that much," Bane snapped back.

"Like share an old identity he doesn't care for?"

More bristling. He looked ready to burst a fuse.

_My gods. I'm playing him like a harp. Is he falling for everything on purpose, or has he really lost this much edge?_

After all, war did things to people. Maybe the war softened Bane up more than Boba thought was possible.

"You think you can blackmail me into working with you?" Bane pressed.

Boba Fett shrugged.

"I've been needing someone of your experience with a job I've recently been hired to do. You _do _need the money, don't you? I mean, a year without any work—"

"What about Bossk? You two got along."

"Oh, we've fallen out of touch. The war and all."

"Whether I need the money or not is none of your fucking business."

_He _is_ falling for it. He sure didn't see through that lie, _Boba thought. With every word Bane said, Boba's amusement at the situation only grew.

"Fine, we won't talk about that. But I have been looking for an experienced hunter with this new job. That's when I remembered the contract we never finished."

"Basically you want to kill two birds in one shot—tie up loose threads, and use my experience in this new job," Cad Bane said slowly.

"I would mention your reward for the new contract, but it's not my business." Boba gestured down to the contract on the table, the exact same one they signed with their blood three years ago. "Deal or not. If you don't like my terms, you can walk away. It's a high-risk operation I'm taking, orders directly from an Imperial admiral. We will be stationed primarily on the Naboo system, but—"

"It's a deal."

_Ah, so he does need the money after all. Desperate, are we?_

Boba proceeded to take out the old contract so Bane could look over the new terms and so on. After they had signed it, Boba finally took off his helmet since he felt inclined to do so at some point anyway. He took note of every one of Bane's movements as they gathered their things, descended the stage, and walked down the main aisle of the theatrehouse for the front entrance. If he really wanted to get rid of this guy once and for all, Boba had to know what he was up against.

"Do you mind if I ask a personal question?" Boba asked, wondering how Bane would respond.

"You can ask, but there's no guarantee I'll give an answer."

"Fine. I'm just curious. Where have you been this whole time? Since the war ended, I mean."

Bane glanced at him—he used to look down in a condescending manner, head cocked to the side with lower lip jutted down as if wondering how such a specimen could have survived this long. Now they were nearing equal height, especially if Boba put his helmet on. And now, Bane merely looked at him with a passing, apathetic glance, like he had too much on his mind to bother giving a shit about Boba Fett.

Not good. Boba planned to change that, and soon.

"The hell is it to you?" Bane scoffed.

"See it as just catching up. It's been three years, after all. I can start."

"No thanks. I'm not interested in what you've been up to."

Boba wished he still had his helmet. Then he would not have to conceal his scowl. Then he transferred the energy to a halfhearted smirk as they headed for _Slave I_.

"I think you'll change your mind."

"You think a lot of things."

"Someone has to do the thinking around here."

"What are you saying?" Bane began to snarl, but he made no action that he was about to do any of the things he used to when Boba insulted him. Things like jab his shoulder, hold his arm against his back, or trip him as they walked up a flight of stairs. This time, Bane just turned away and shuffled more quickly down the walk.

At this point in time, Boba had become long accustomed to studying the behavior a potential ally, client, or other in only a miniscule slot of time. Studying post-war Bane did not prove to be as much of a chore as Boba thought it would be. It came almost too easy, frightfully easy, actually. The first thing Boba noticed, Bane hunched over more and walked with an uneasy shuffle, his head not held so pridefully high as before. Like a combination of perpetual exhaustion, wandering thoughts, and general being pissed off at the world instead of taking it by force. Secondly, Bane's tone of voice had less presence or firmness. Where once he spoke harshly and with a coldness occasionally twisted into demented pleasure or affection, now he merely used a hushed declaration of facts or even resorted to muttered cursing under his breath. And thirdly, whenever Boba intentionally threw in an insult or demeaning remark, just to see how Bane would pounce on it, Bane's response amounted to little more than reticent bitterness. Certainly not the cold aggression Boba had grown used to before.

In a word, during the few minutes they spent signing the contract and exiting the theatrehouse a second time, side by side, Boba felt that he was beside only a portion of the Cad Bane he used to know. A shadow, or a ghost, not the entirety of the old companion. Somehow, the war had stolen the rest.

* * *

_A/N: And the tides have turned. __First it was screaming to Boba "run away while you still can", and now it's Bane who needs to run away._

_They are incredibly unhealthy for each other but that's why I love the Bane/Boba chemistry so much, how they slowly take the other through a string of self-destruction and chaos until all that's left is..._

_whoops, I almost spoiled something important._

_Anyway, hope y'all enjoy the story so far! Things are going to get VERY intense in just a couple chapters, so hang on to your hats! (you too, Bane)_


	9. Chapter the Ninth

"The Bane Of My Past"

Chapter the Ninth

* * *

_A/N:_

_If you have read my fanfic "Space Bound", you already know what Cad Bane was up to while he was absent from this story._

_If you haven't read it, maybe you'll like it. It's quite long though...and I'll go more into those events with my upcoming fic if you'd rather wait for that instead._

_Anyway..._

* * *

A few days spent in Coronet City while _Slave I _underwent repairs gave Boba Fett and Cad Bane plenty of time to, as Boba liked to think of it, test the waters of each other's presence a second time.

Boba noticed how Bane had less to say while he checked out the room across from Boba's at the motel and settled in for the night. It was as if he had less on his mind, and thus less to say. Either that or there was so much on his mind he didn't bother to say anything. Then Boba decided to make an off comment on the hat. Three years ago, Bane would have snapped back a similar retort, or said something about Boba's helmet. Now he just snorted and continued about his business.

A second time, Boba tried asking the question as to what Bane had been doing for the year of his disappearance. Bane's answer remained the same, but Boba could tell it was by more force that time, which meant it wouldn't take long for Bane to crack. And no matter how it went Boba would see to it that that someone was going to be him.

Their old mental dance on the floor of each other's pysche had picked up again, only this time, it would be different. And better yet, it would be in Boba's favor. Where before he found himself entering a bargain he felt uncertain would be the best choice for him, now he was the one calling the shots and granting Bane his own uncertainty. Where Boba had been on the receiving end, tied down by his own confusion, a stranger to the world around him, it was Bane's turn to be the lost one.

The old days had come back out to play.

As Bane sat down at the round table in Boba's apartment and began to shuffle out a game of Sabaac, Boba took long, luxurious sips from his mixed drink.

_Don't worry, Bane. You don't have to tell me how you've changed. If you spilled everything, that would just be dull. I'll have a lot more fun if I figure it out myself._

"Tell me more about Naboo," said Bane.

Boba pulled himself out of his thoughts and back to the card game. After he had cast his bet, he cleared his throat to speak.

"There is an anti-Imperial sympathizing bank in Theed, the capital of Naboo," Boba explained. Then he decided to subtly add, "You _may _or may _not _have heard of the incident not too long ago, when Grand Inquisitor Malorum was killed during the attack against an Imperial garrison?"

Clearly, this was news to Bane. So he hadn't even bothered to keep tabs on current events all this time? Boba could easily use that to his advantage.

"Well, after that," Boba continued, sighing and fumbling with his cards, "the Empire remained quiet enough that real controversial talk began sprouting around on Naboo. Because of this, some of the planet's major corporations have been showing some more movements against the Empire and reclaiming the entire system as independent. One of these is a bank. Supposedly, the bank is giving out funds to the cause of an uprising against the Empire."

"What's our part in this?" Bane asked flatly, still staring at his cards.

"Our job is to infiltrate the bank, uncover solid proof that they're supporting an uprising, and take the bank hostage. We eliminate all security and head producers at the bank, which will take some time...it's no small corporation, as you probably know. Then we deliver the evidence to the Empire. They'll send in some troops to finish the job."

"If they can finish it, why hire us to start it?"

Boba smirked and tapped the top of his cards as he inched his chair closer to the table.

"I take it you don't know how the system works these days, do you, Bane? You see, the Empire doesn't want to get its hands dirty. They never gave the Naboo incident too much attention, since they didn't want everyone finding out Naboo supported anti-Imperial actions. That's why they don't want to make a move until we've obtained solid evidence and done the toughest part of the job. Letting the Imperials move in and do away with the rest of the bank just makes it more official."

"Yeah, sure. I've taken better jobs before, and they didn't smell so fishy either. But it's good pay."

"Aha. So you _do _need the money," Boba chuckled as he slapped down his hand of cards.

"Go to hell," Bane snapped.

At that, Boba could not hold himself back anymore. He stood up to his full height, then leaned forward and gently lowered a hand over Bane's unprotected wrist. Before Bane could realize what Boba was doing, he had squeezed down hard enough that Bane would feel the sharp pain in his nerves. Boba watched Bane wince and struggle for a few moments before he brushed a curl out of his eye with his free hand and murmured,

"Oh, partner, where do you think we are right now?"

"You'd better let go of me, you little—"

Boba slipped out of the jab to his face, stepped back, and flipped Bane's arm down on top of their card game. Bane swung out a leg trying to make Boba lose balance, but Boba had already anticipated this move and stepped in the other direction, allowing Bane to land face-first on the table. Struggling, Bane attacked Boba with a blow to the ribcage before Boba finally released his wrist.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Bane growled when he had recovered.

"I just wanted to see how sharp you are. You might have dulled up a bit since we last met."

"Damn idiot. If you thought I was dull, you wouldn't have hired me for this job."

"Good. Then I can expect the best from both worlds." Boba let the sarcasm ooze through his tone. Then he raised a finger over his left eye. "I'm sure there's a story behind how you got that scar on your eye."

"Not a story worth telling."

Boba walked towards him, tilting his head to the side as he studied Bane's expression and posture. He made a motion of drawing out an invisible knife, then held it up to his own eye. At that, Bane took a step back with a look of dark coldness, as if he knew what Boba wanted to do and he cared less about it than he felt like he should.

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" Boba asked quietly.

"You ain't the judge of anything about me, Fett."

"Oh, I'm not?" Boba stepped closer, and repeated the motion with the invisible knife. Even though his hand was empty, he felt that he really had one and was threatening both himself and Bane with it. "If you really mean it, say it again. 'Boba Fett is not the judge of anything about Cad Bane.' Go ahead."

"Something tells me you've been hanging out with Aurra Sing again. I thought you hated her," Bane muttered.

_Here's my chance to find out more about him, _thought Boba. _I can learn what really happened to him and why he's different. The more I know, the quicker I can think up how I am going to kill him._

By now, one thing was becoming especially clear to Boba. He could not kill Bane when they were alone—leave the body in a back alley or on an abandoned cliffside. He needed an audience. He needed that moment to be his big statement, his chance to show them that he was his father's son and more so. Everything else in his reputation had fallen into place except that one decisive move where everybody realizes they had better start taking you seriously. This was that move, and Bane was the playing piece.

"I'm the one who is going to get you back on track, Bane, don't you understand? You've been down in the gutter all this time. Your tally points are dropping faster the longer you stay away from the hunt. And then I come along and hire you again." Boba thrust the invisible knife into Bane's stomach. Wide-eyed, Bane side-stepped and crossed his arms. "I'm your savior, aren't I. I'm the one who's going to make people wish they were dead when they heard your name, just like it was before. I'm going to make everyone remember you."

"Who said I needed your help?"

"You never had to," Boba said.

"What are you trying to tell me? I'd better comply with all your bullshit requests, or I'm back in the gutter? If that's the case, I think you're expecting too much out of our partnership, and from yourself." Bane sat back down at the table, albeit with his arms tucked in and his eyes zeroed in on Boba. "You may be all grown up, but you have a long way to go."

Boba scowled. All this time and Bane _still _underestimated him. At least one thing about him hadn't changed.

"I'm only saying that I'm out for both of our best interests. Right now, it's even. I need you, and you need me. We're in this together." Once again, Boba pointed to the spot where Bane's scar divided his left eye. "It's just that every story has a scar. That's all."

_I'll make them remember you, all right. They'll remember you as Boba Fett's most famous kill of the decade._

* * *

By the end of the week, _Slave I _was ready to leave.

Boba was all for watching Bane load his weapons and other supplies onto the ship. He seemed to have collected a lot more than Boba remembered him having before. As Bane dragged the fourth and final crate into the cargo hold of the ship, Boba leaned against the hatch and smirked to himself.

"Did you remember the refresher sink?" he asked.

He could see Bane inwardly roll his eyes, though he was physically hindered from doing so. Instead Bane rose to his full height and put one hand on his hip, as if Boba's comment had personally offended him.

So Bane was all about weapons and maintenance now, and made them high priority. Yet another good thing to know.

"One thing I've learned," Bane said slowly and firmly, "you can never be too prepared. And never throw anything away because you might need it later."

Boba glanced at the four crates, all packed with weapons.

"Sounds like you've had it pretty rough the past year."

"I told you, go to hell." As Bane shuffled past Boba out of the cargo hold, he intentionally shoved into Boba's unarmored shoulder.

Boba followed after him, watching Bane light up a cigar and start smoking. The two of them climbed into the cockpit seats of _Slave I_, after which Boba started up the engines and began lifting the ship off the landing platform.

_Okay, time to start earning his trust again. I have to get serious about this, _Boba told himself.

"I don't mean to pry," Boba said, intentionally lowering his tone and glancing down so he appeared more guilty. "You know me...I'm just curious and I want to learn everything. I haven't had it so easy myself, you know, with the war and all."

"I don't know. You don't look so bad." Bane stared in front of him, focusing on his cigar.

"Maybe I should have been more intentional about finding you after I escaped from prison. I signed the contract too, after all," Boba muttered. Then he fell silent.

"Is that an apology?"

"Take what you can get."

Finally, Cad Bane seemed to crack a small grin. Boba could see it clearly now. Bane, too, was beginning to believe the old days had come back out to play. Maybe this made him feel young again.

"I stayed away for a year because I needed a break from the profession. And I don't think I'll ever miss it again. It's just what's necessary...the best I can do to keep going." Bane hesitated before looking away from him. "That's all you're going to know."

Boba opted to say nothing for a few minutes, soaking in the silence as he found the two of them alone in the blackness of space once again, just like how they were before. And as much as Boba wanted to see him dead and out of his life for good, something felt sacred about these moments, as Boba inched ever closer to his goal and Cad Bane returned every move in the dance unaware that he was taking backward steps into the jaws of death, and their minds held hands and pretended they were partners signed under contract by blood when in actuality blood had signed them apart as enemies a long time ago. It was like the moment before you tear off the wrapping of a gift, because you want to know what it is but you don't want to spoil your excitement and curiosity. It was like the moment just as you're about to take in a deep breath and dive into the water, because you could already feel the waves crash around your ears and slap your skin, yet the solid ground still scrapes against your feet as you prepare yourself.

The moment tasted sweet and beautiful. The best taste Boba had experienced. That was when he knew this moment would be defining and cornerstone in his career, and when he walked away from this he would never be the same again. But until it came, he felt just fine with the waiting part.

* * *

_A/N: Boba might have a little obsessive problem. After all he's been through at this point, I can hardly blame him, though._

_As if you thought the relationship wasn't twisted enough already._

_Warning, next couple chapters will be quite intense and a little graphic as well._


	10. Chapter the Tenth

"The Bane Of My Past"

Chapter the Tenth

* * *

It was late afternoon on the Naboo system by the time Boba Fett and Cad Bane landed at the designated rendezvous area. While Bane sorted through the crates, trying to decide which weapons he would need, Boba exited _Slave I _and walked out to the meeting area, a large and abandoned docking bay. There, most of the group had already assembled and were waiting for him.

"Who else is on the team?" Bane had asked during their journey through space.

"Bossk. Sugi. Dengar. Latts. IG-88. Highsinger. Those are the main backbone of the team. The rest, I scrambled up from various systems, all in need of work," Boba answered.

When they arrived, all six he listed off by name were ready. Some were also going through weapons, practicing their target skills, otherwise preparing for the task ahead. Bane soon followed Boba Fett out of the ship, and Boba glanced behind to see what he had chosen to arm himself with. A blaster and a standard rifle were all he brought with. Several miles away from the rendezvous area, the Theed Royal Palace could be seen on the edge of a giant cliff, which towered over the wilderness and formed a dark shadow upon the waters. The stars were beginning to come out, and the cold chill of darkness was settling in.

Boba waited until the rest of the team had arrived, which fortunately did not take long. He kept a close eye on everyone, including Bane, who refused to mingle with the others even in silence. He seemed to keep to himself, using a small rag to polish his weapons as he glanced around what there was of the surrounding scenery. Once everyone had gathered, Boba checked the hour. Right on time, just as he had scheduled.

"Everyone, listen up," Boba Fett announced. All dozen heads turned to look at him as he projected a holoimage of the bank onto the ground in front of him. "I will lead the first group through the side entrance to the bank...we'll break in and make our way to the top level where we'll collect the evidence. Sugi, you will lead the second group. Once we're halfway up, I'll send you a beacon on your comlink. That will be your signal to lead the second group through the back entrance to cover us.

"You have permission to kill anyone who resists. I also have a list of the names and faces of the bank's main producers who will need to be killed as well. Sugi has a copy of the list. The bank closes in one hour, which gives us ninety minutes total. Does anyone have any questions?"

Of course, no one said anything. Pursing his lips for a split second, Boba nodded once before donning his helmet.

"Then move out."

As previously ordained, Bossk, IG-88, and Cad Bane were in the first group, as well as a handful of the other bounty hunters. As Sugi's group stayed behind, Boba led the rest on the transport that would take them to the cliff side to the narrow passageway leading up to the bank, which was located a mere hundred yards from the Palace.

"Bossk, lead in front," Boba snapped.

The Trandoshan rushed forward to walk alongside Boba. Immediately he whispered,

"So Boba, is tonight going to be the night?"

"That's the plan."

"When do I get to—"

"No, Bossk. That was before. I can take care of it by myself now. I don't need your help anymore." Boba paused, then smiled beneath the helmet. "In fact, if you interfere, maybe you'll be next."

"You're not threatening me, are you, Fett? You really should know better."

"You forget, for now, I'm the one in charge. You can go your own merry way when this is over. Until then, you'd be better off staying out of my way," Boba said quietly.

"I hear you," Bossk said, backing away. Boba could have sworn he heard the Trandoshan mutter, under his breath and scarcely audible, "You may be in charge, but you can still go fuck yourself."

Under different circumstances, Boba would have challenged Bossk for a fight just for that remark. And not to say he didn't make a rain check for said fight at another time. He had spent enough years tolerating the mutters and remarks, after all. But because he had other plans for this night, Boba turned down the strong temptation. He'd been waiting for his chance for years...ever since, he now realized, he met Bane way back in that arena on Tatooine. He could not fuck this up, no matter what.

As the evening began to settle around them, the city lights of Theed flickering above while the blackness drew ever closer, and Boba held his blaster close with either bounty hunter at his side, his memories retreated way back to himself, seven years old, standing in the front-row seats of the arena watching his father win over and over again. He remembered the great pride he felt for his father, what it meant to him to hear the name 'Jango Fett' chanted by thousands all around him, how honored he felt to be able to to say "That's _my _dad." It was his father and no one else's who walked away completely undefeated in the ring that day. It was his father whose name they cheered for above any other. Boba Fett had never, ever forgotten what it felt in his heart to know these things and lock them away inside.

Except, now, Boba envisioned _himself_ as the one in the arena about to face his opponent. The spectators had fallen silent, desperately waiting to see what he would do next and if he would come out victorious. And if he looked behind him into the first row of seats, he could see his father standing there, cheering him on, thinking "That's my son."

_Don't worry, Dad. I'll make you proud. I'll show them all what I can do. They'll never forget our name. Not after tonight._

Boba Fett returned his thoughts to the present. The transport had taken them to the edge of the cliff. There, Boba used his sensor to find the passageway that would lead them up the cliff. Bossk, Cad Bane, and the others all covered his back, keeping on the lookout for Naboo guards or ships. As soon as the sensor picked up the location, Boba made a signal with his hand for them to approach.

"Let's go in," he whispered.

Boba passed the time by going through his mental checklist. He knew that, for now, his two most important objectives were, first, to carry out the plan in invading the bank, and second, not allow Bane to suspect anything. Boba also knew he had to time the time of killing perfectly. If anyone else on the team besides Bossk was going to be a witness, he had to make sure they didn't suspect anything else was going on.

Best case scenario: Boba found a way to make it look like Bane had betrayed the group in some way, or tried to do his own thing. Anything that would give Boba a legitimate reason to kill him. Not only would it solidify his effectiveness as a leader—eliminating anyone who goes against the plan at hand—but they would see firsthand that he had carried it out himself. If all this fell into place at the proper time, the night would be a complete success. Of course, he also had to prepare for the worst.

At the top of the cliff, Boba contacted Sugi to let her know they had made it. From there, it was slow going to the bank, but they still made it on schedule. The side entrance was dead ahead. A cool breeze rushed across the empty city street; Boba listened to it howl and moan. Then he instructed Bossk to lead the others in front while he covered the rear. In less than a minute, he knew laser bolts would be flying and they would be marking off the list of names they were hired to kill. And he got to be in charge.

"Hey, Fett," Bane said from behind him.

Boba spun around to find the Duros looking down at him with a cold, apathetic expression, his weapon poised to fire at a moment's notice. He had not looked at Boba in this way for many years.

_What's he thinking? Does he already suspect something? _Boba wondered.

"I just want you to know," said Bane, "in case either of both of us aren't alive this time tomorrow...I never did like you."

Boba frowned underneath the helmet. Way to kill the moment.

"...but I respected you a lot more than I ever showed it, and I still do," Bane continued. Taking the silence to his advantage, Bane watched the other bounty hunters breaking into the side entrance and commencing the assault. "I just thought I should tell you that now in case one of us gets killed."

For a moment as they both waited for their turn to cover the back, Boba fell silent and began twisting his weapon in a tightening grip. One thing remained clear in his mind: the Bane he knew from before would not have even bothered to say such a thing to his face, no matter if they knew they were going to die or not. So why would he bother saying it now? What prompted him to let Boba know he had been respected all this time? Did Bane _know_? Or did he say things like that nowadays?

Either way, Boba had no time to dwell on that now. He stood up, cocked his head in Bane's direction, and replied,

"Have a little faith in us. We're not invincible, but we made it through a war, you know." Boba drew his weapon, already aiming for his first target. "But for the record, I'd have to say the same."

"Then it's too bad we both wasted our time not showing it," Bane retorted.

_I didn't think he'd fall for that one. At this rate, he'll leave himself vulnerable to me in no time, _thought Boba.

As they made their way through the bank, Boba reviewed the training in his head. It made the job much simpler and easier when he focused on what he should be doing next, not what had already been done. When they first made their entrance into the bank, Bossk fired some warning shots so the general public would leave as soon as possible, as could be expected...they were not here for a high body count. Moving quickly, refusing to slow down or stop, Boba directed their fire at the designated targets, as the group proceeded upstairs.

Boba Fett heard shooting all around him. Screaming. Terror. Confusion. None from his posse, of course, which made it a good thing. Laser bolts flying, killing, maiming and tearing. He tasted metallic, salty blood in his mouth even though he knew he had not bitten his lip or tongue. Through his helmet visor he made out a shape in front of him, a security guard raising his weapon. Without thinking twice about it Boba fired two shots into the guard's chest before making his way past him. All he allowed himself to think about was the task in front of him.

Not to think about the fact that that guard, however anonymous he seemed, had some family waiting for him once he finished his shift working at the bank, and they would never see him again. Or maybe he had no family and the poor bastard was going to have a quick, simple, tearless funeral. These were the things Boba did not think about, no, that he could not afford to think about. He pushed them out of his mind.

He was getting paid for this, helping his reputation for this...that's all that he could allow himself to care about.

When he glanced behind him, he saw Bane staying right by his side to cover his back. Boba would not have had it any other way.

Before the end of the hour, Boba and his group had made their way to the top floor of the bank. There, Boba singled out the technician of the group to locate the master data computer, find, and collect the information they needed. As the technician set to work, the others watched his back. Boba, Bossk, and Cad Bane stood near the large window overlooking the city, all the way out to the Palace. The air was silent and still, save for the sound of Sugi's team cleaning out the remaining security two floors below, but Boba could taste the impending violence of what was to come.

Boba shuddered, readjusting his helmet slightly. He glanced up and saw Bane rest his rifle over his arm.

"I'd better go down there. See if Sugi needs help," he muttered.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Bossk said, almost in a mocking tone that Bane would dare stoop to thinking of the welfare of someone else on the team when it did not financially profit him.

"All the same. I'm not needed up here. I won't be long." Bane began descending the staircase leading to where Sugi's team was holding off the guards.

_This is my chance. As soon as we've collected the information, I'll corner Bane by myself and make it look like he was trying to lead the guards to us, _thought Boba, and he too began to descend the steps after Bane.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Fett," he heard Bossk call out. "If you're about to do what I think you're about to do, wait until we return to the rendezvous point."

"Give me one good reason I should listen to you."

"I was a part of your plan from the start. Don't I still have some say in it, now?" Then, Bossk added with a chuckle, "besides, there's more than one name I have on my hit list I'd enjoy taking out, given the chance."

"Fine. The rendezvous point."

* * *

The tension was unbearable. The job was finished, but to Boba, it felt like it had only begun. With the information collected, all security and designated targets eliminated, Imperial forces called in to properly finish the job, and their payment already waiting at the rendezvous point, the two teams returned to their previous meeting place.

All the while, Boba felt himself breaking out in a cold sweat. His palms felt slippery as he held up his weapon, even though he wore gloves. His breaths quickened with every step. Everything in him burned like he had never felt it before.

Bossk was right. Now Boba knew more than ever, this would not end it. Killing Bane was just the starting point. After that, Boba could not turn down even the toughest job, not allow any friends or enemies in the field, show his employers he deserved their respect, function as a professional. After tonight, he would have a heavy reputation to hold up, and he felt more than enough ready for that.

He followed behind the others, holding his breath for the opportune moment.

When it came, Boba discovered he was going to have the audience he'd been hoping for. Over half the team had already made it back, and the others trailed behind. It would not take them long to catch up. Now all he had to do was come up with a plausible reason for an execution...shouldn't be too hard.

It sounded like Bane was about to say something to him, but Boba Fett was not listening. The instant Bane turned his back to him and lowered his weapon, Boba knew it was time. He raised his blaster to the back of Bane's head and let it click into 'kill' mode.

It happened almost instantly. Boba smelled the fear as it poisoned his old partner.

"Boba, what are you doing?" Bane asked quietly.

"What do you think?"

Neither of them said it, but it was passed on silently through the way Bane's shoulders sagged and Boba took another step closer, and both felt as if they had been fated to end up this way for a long time.

This had been the plan all along, and now it was too late to turn back.


	11. Chapter the EleventhEpilogue

"The Bane Of My Past"

Chapter the Eleventh (Final Chapter)

* * *

Boba heard the older bounty hunter let out a small sigh, as if he had been waiting for this moment a long time.

"Turn around," Boba said.

He was surprised when Bane actually followed his order, and stood straight and tall as he stared down Boba's blaster.

"What took you so long?" asked Bane.

"If I was strong enough to kill you before, I would have."

"I don't think so," Bane said with a small smile. "Nothing stopped you all that time. You wanted it bad enough, you could have found a way to do it when I wasn't looking. I think you were just too scared."

Meanwhile, Boba stole quick glances to his left and right. The others from the group were starting to return to the docking bay. In less than ten minutes, everyone would be back. And the more eyewitnesses, the better. Boba wrapped his finger over the trigger.

"I'm done listening to your lies. Drop your weapon."

Bane threw the rifle several feet away. It landed with a loud clang that echoed in the docking bay. Boba gestured to the floor.

"Now get on your knees."

"How long were you planning this?"

"Take a guess."

"But the contract...you signed it in blood...?"

"I killed a small stray animal thirty minutes before I entered that theatrehouse. That's whose blood I used to sign it."

Bane's small laugh sounded forced, anything but genuine.

"It's simple. You took what was supposed to be mine. You humiliated my name. Stole my inheritance. Cheated me out of my wealth. I had to take it back someday," Boba Fett said in a firm, vicious tone.

"Inheritance?" Bane scoffed. "Do you think your father's name makes you something special? You're just hiding under his shadow, not real flesh and blood."

_No, you're wrong, you're wrong. You don't know anything about me! You never did! _Inside, Boba could feel himself screaming all the things he had never dared to say aloud.

By then Boba knew that half the group had arrived and were watching the scene with great confusion and suspense. Now it was time to play his part as the leader. He turned to the others, still aiming his weapon at Bane.

"I caught him trying to contact Naboo security and give away our position. Seems like he was working for them all along."

He didn't expect Bane to play along, but the sooner he killed him, the more likely the group would believe Boba's side of the story. He fired a warning shot near Bane's leg.

"I said, get on your knees," he threatened.

Once Bane had knelt down, he put his hands behind his neck and lowered his gaze to the ground. Boba took a step closer and aimed the blaster for his head.

Suddenly, time seemed to stop. For a strange reason and he did not know why, Boba now felt as if he were back in the Geonosian arena, staring down at the battle before him. He was watching his father fight the Jedi Master. He was waiting to see the Jedi struck down, only to see the lightsaber sail across his father's shoulders. The scene repeated in his head, again and again.

Boba shuddered, feeling a wave of nausea. Why was this flashback coming to him now, of all times?

He fought back the tears until they were gone for good. Then Boba tore off his helmet and let it fall to the ground.

With a startle, Boba realized that somewhere along the way, the flashback in his head had changed, just like the vision of himself watching his father in the Panwa Arena. Now, instead of watching his father die at the hands of a Jedi, he saw himself fighting an invisible opponent. He was already anticipating his own victory, and he could see someone watching him. Then he felt the lightsaber cut him in half, destroy something he thought would never be taken away from him. In his mind, Boba was watching himself die over and over again. And nothing was going to end it.

"Go ahead, Boba. No one's stopping you," Bane muttered.

He watched himself die every day, ever since that day on Geonosis. That was what it meant. Whatever was inside that little boy that kept him full of hopes and dreams...it had been cut in half a hundred times. Hopes and dreams meant nothing in the world Boba had entangled himself in since then. They were just fantasies that a few still held onto, and pretended they were real so they had something to keep fighting for, but it was all artificial and pointless. The wonder and ambition that once made his world so alive had been killed the same day Dad was killed. And Boba now understood, only all too late, he had wasted his time trying to bring back those hopes and dreams. He had spent too much energy pretending that day on Geonosis had not stolen his youth and took away the little light in his life. All this time he'd only been pretending. Now here he was, pretending even more.

It was like being awoken from a pleasant dream and back into a world lacking in color and brightness.

Who was he kidding? Had he been kidding himself all this time? Even if he did kill Bane, and if he killed a dozen more, it would all add up to nothing. None of it mattered.

There would always be someone out there who was stronger, smarter, and faster than he, and Boba could never change that.

Reputation was a fragile thing, indeed. But now he realized not even the greatest reputation could bring back any shred of who he had been before Geonosis. Not the largest tallies, nor the highest honor of bringing glory back to his father's name. None of it would resurrect those hopes and dreams that died almost seven years ago.

It was all meaningless in the end. All empty, void of substance. Nothing but lies and fake things.

The only thing Boba Fett had left was the money. Keep fighting, keep surviving, keep making money. Don't care what you do as long as it pays well. That was the only way you can keep going. You didn't dare think about anything else or it would shatter what you used all your resolve to hold together. That's all there was to life, then...pretending we're all strong to conceal how close we are to falling apart.

All of this passed through Boba's mind in less than ten seconds, but it felt more like ten hours. Everyone was still waiting for him to do it. Cad Bane glanced up at him. Something gleamed in Bane's eyes, something that was telling him he just might survive when he had thought he would be killed.

If Boba Fett did not know better, he'd say he saw hope in Bane's eyes. But that was ridiculous, how could either of them still have hope?

"What's going on, Fett?" Sugi's voice broke the silence. She had just arrived at the docking bay. Boba remembered that Bane and Sugi had known each other even before Jango was killed, and Boba wondered if Sugi would feel a personal obligation to interfere. Unless she, too, had no hope left. Which was quite likely.

"Caught him red-handed. Step back, Sugi." Boba wrapped his finger around the trigger again, preparing to fire.

"How's about a better idea?" said Sugi.

_Goddammit. She'd better not have anything up her sleeve._

"Make it quick," Boba snapped.

"We could make some extra money if we kept him alive."

"How do you mean?"

"I'm sure there are plenty of folks who'd pay a lot for his head. Makes more sense to me, don't you think?"

At first Boba wanted to retaliate, put Sugi back in her place and get the job done and over with. But maybe she was right, in light of everything. After all, delivering Bane into the hands of someone who would have him executed a week later anyway, would do the same for his reputation if he killed Bane on his own.

And it was all about the money, wasn't it?

Doesn't matter who gets hurt—whether the person is innocent or guilty. Doesn't matter what is neglected or killed off—hopes, dreams, happiness, honor and love.

If you have enough money at the end of the day, nothing else matters.

Now Boba Fett finally knew his place. _This _was the inheritance from his father. It had taken him this long, but he earned it.

"Fine. Bossk, Sugi, get him back to my ship. We'll find the highest price for him and take him there."

"Smooth move, Fett," Bane said, calling his old apprentice on a last-name basis once again. "I taught you well. You're on your own, now."

"Shut the fuck up. You didn't teach me anything," Boba said coldly. Of course, it was a lie. Maybe Boba wouldn't have realized this without Bane's teaching all those years. Maybe it would have taken Boba longer to come to this place.

The contract had been a good idea after all.

* * *

Another nightmare. No, not again.

_He's sent everyone to their place. He's taken care of it all. They're all at the gallows and as soon as the last of the sunset has disappeared they will be hung by their necks. Everyone who ever betrayed him, thought less of him because of his age, or disgraced his father's name after he was killed on Geonosis._

_He's going to take care of all of them, and when the deed is done and they're all gone, they'll know that he was the best. They'll swallow every word, every prudish tone of voice, every wavering glance and cold touch...all of it will be forced down their throats._

_He can see all their faces as they stand on the podium. The nooses are around their necks and tightened. They are terrified as they look down at him from where he is about to pull the lever. The sunset is bright and beautiful and painting the world in blood red. But it won't last forever, will it? No matter how bright it may seem, everything falls back into darkness again. It may seem beautiful but beauty is a temporary thing that never lasts. In minutes, seconds even, they will all be dead. He watches the light as it dips quietly down. The world is completely silent. None of them are saying anything but he can see the screaming in their eyes, "Don't do it, don't do it! We didn't mean it! Please, we'll do whatever you want us to do! Whatever you want...anything at all. Just don't do it. We don't want to die!"_

_You're so adorable when you beg for death, Boba contemplates. I'm just finishing what somebody else started. Don't you know you're already dead?_

_The ground is cold and scratches the heels of his boots. It is red sand...Geonosian sand. He is about to pull the lever. Finally he is going to have vengeance after all this time. They will all know he is the best. Nobody will ever forget his name after this. Their blood on his hands, the glory in his lap...can't have one without the other, can we?_

_There. The light is gone. It is nightfall. They plead one last time, "We don't want to die!" It's so adorable._

_He pulls the lever. He wishes he could smile and enjoy this, but that's too much to ask for. He's the winner, but it feels anything like a victory. Oh, well...at least he's still able to walk. They'll be left hanging by their necks and he'll keep going. _

_There is a funny feeling around Boba's neck. Does it feel like...rope? Does that feel like a circle of rope, around his neck? Oh, no. Make it stop. This can't happen. This wasn't supposed to happen. It's tightening. There is a rope around his neck and it's tightening!_

_And he sees, all too late, that the rope around his neck is in the shape of a noose, and it has begun to pull and tighten on him. He looks up at the end of the rope to find out where it is coming from. The lot of them are hanging, dead, motionless; their eyes have stopped screaming and fallen silent. But that's where the rope is coming from, as luck would have it. The same rope that they are hanging by, is the same one about to pull on his own neck._

_No, no, this wasn't supposed to happen! He cries out. He only hears silence. Since they are all dead, there is no one to hear him, and no one to help him. He is all alone. He brought it upon himself and now he is going to put himself to death the same way his enemies were put to death. It's not right. It's so unfair..._

_He has to make it stop. Make it stop!_

Boba woke up choking with his hands around his neck.

He was lying in the cockpit of _Slave I_, still in the docking bay. It was the only ship still there. He sat up and looked up at the blackness.

Slowly the day's previous events came back. The Theed palace, the bank, the shooting, Bane and Sugi and the others.

He missed his chance, didn't he? He was so close to killing Bane and he didn't. Oh, well...it's the money that counts, isn't it? Boba could see it already; one of those Imperial HoloNet news strings reporting Bane's death at whoever's hands, and the fact that Boba Fett handed him over.

He wondered when his payment would arrive. As for when they actually killed Bane, Boba found that it didn't even matter to him anymore. Only the money, that's what mattered.

The game is over, then. He played his last move. He beat his opponent. Funny, he used to think about this moment when he was younger, wondering how he would celebrate when he accomplished his goal.

But how empty and frail it all seemed now. Boba did not see the game he had won, but the endless string of games waiting in front of him on a series of steps leading to nowhere. Now that he understood his place at last, Boba knew the games would go on and on, never ceasing until he was finally beaten and it would be the end of everything. Until such time, the money and the reputation was all that mattered.

This is what it was to be a survivor.

* * *

"Bad news, Boba," Bossk informed him several days after Naboo.

"Don't tell me," Boba muttered, reading Bossk like a holobook. Especially after what he had put Bossk in charge to do.

They had handed Cad Bane over to the authorities on the Lothal system who had put out a reward for his capture. A few days later, Lothal reported that Bane had escaped and vanished without a trace.

Of course, at this point, Boba did not so much feel angry that he had lost his chance at Bane yet again, but curious as to how Bane escaped Lothal. Considering how Bane had changed in recent years, Boba wondered if he paid somebody to bust him out instead of doing it by himself. And if he did pay somebody, who was it? And how much money did they demand for the job? Would this person be aware of Bane's current whereabouts? Lots of things to consider.

But for now, Boba decided he was going to focus on other things. If the time came to deal with Bane once again, of course, Boba would take it if the reward was substantial. And maybe someday he _would _be paid to do it.

He left his old friend Bossk behind, and set out after the next job he had been hired to do. If money was all he had left, he'd better damn-well get started. He had a long ways to go.

At least the game had been fun, he speculated. But now he wondered what other sorts of games would be laid out in front of him. Could be interesting.

All lies and fake things, but interesting nonetheless.

* * *

"Epilogue"

.

Boba Fett would not see many of them again for years. Deciding his old friendship with Bossk had run its course, he maintained only minimal connections with the Trandoshan. Eventually, their paths would come to intersect time and time again, but nothing like it used to be. Not like the old days during the Clone Wars.

His old mentor, Aurra Sing, would also disappear. It seemed Sing had her own ideas on how to stake out a course for herself. Boba Fett would hear her name brought up once in a while in passing news and rumors. None of it fantastic, but mere speculation. It was just as well. He'd feel better about it if they never met again.

Boba kept close all the remnants he still had of Jango. His code, his name, his past and his infamy. But ever since Naboo, something had changed. He felt different about it. He still honored his father greatly, but Jango's shadow did not hover over him anymore. He did not have anything to carry on but himself, no glory but his own to pursue, no reason to survive except for his own gratitude. In other words, he did not need to prove himself worthy of his father's name any longer.

So had he won, then? Did he find what he was looking for all along? Had he honored his father's heritage?

Or, did he lose something along the way? Something that made the race more about just winning the game and surviving another day. Whatever that was, it had been lost.

Either way, he had learned the true ways of a bounty hunter just as Jango once learned them. And that in itself was a victory for Boba Fett.

* * *

_A/N:_

_And that wraps it up! (Poor Boba Fett...my heart breaks for the guy. He's all grown up and he's still so young. His childhood was cut too short...)_

_So concludes my general "headcanon" for Boba Fett's backstory and how it intertwines with Cad Bane's. A lot of the inspiration from this fic came from reading online forums that discussed the similarities between Boba and Jango. A lot of fans noted that Boba and Bane actually had more in common, so it made me wonder...did Bane have an influence on Boba Fett while he was still young?_

_It was really fun to write this out and make my headcanon come to life. If I had the time I would have gone more into depth with some parts, but maybe I'll have to save those other ideas for another time._

_(You know, it's sort of canon that Bane DID take Boba as a apprentice of some sorts, or at the least they worked together. It was supposed to be an arc released with The Clone Wars Bonus Content in February, but we never got it. I was waiting very eagerly for that arc...maybe if we had seen it I never would have had to write this story in the first place! But considering they recently announced an arc from Season 7 is going to be released in the form of a novel, maybe there is hope for the Bane/Boba arc. All I can do is hope that their relationship will be established as a part of both characters' story in the near future. This fic was an idea of the sort of things I'd love to see in a story like that (slash-y parts wouldn't work as canon, but you know, got to throw in the fan service...ahaha._

_It's kind of depressing that I have so many theories and ideas for the whole history between Cad Bane and Boba Fett, when they've only met ONCE in canon. But that could change within a year or two, so who knows? My ship will go on and on...)_

_Anyway, hope you enjoyed the fic! Tomorrow evening I am going to post the first chapter for my latest fanfic, which is going to be much longer than this one. It is probably the last fanfic I'll write for a long time, at least for Star Wars. Hard to explain why. But maybe check out my profile page and see what that's all about._

_I've said too much...ta._


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